Walk on the Moon
by SixPerfections
Summary: A girl reborn into the world of ninja wants to escape the cycle of violence. Power is the only thing that brings freedom in the ninja world and she will have freedom... at any cost. However breaking the bonds she forms won't be as simple as she imagines. AU SI.
1. Chapter 1

**In the ninja world Yamanaka Rei lives by two simple tenets. Power is freedom. Freedom is everything. Rei wants freedom and is willing to risk everything for it. OC Self-Insert.**

000

It wasn't until Rei was four months old that she figured out her bizarre new life as a baby had landed her in the Naruto world. That was also when she realized she was a Yamanaka from _the_ Yamanaka clan.

Needless to say her mind was blown. Or overwhelmed. In either case her mind stopped working for half a day in complete and utter disbelief before her tired baby body dragged her under for another nap.

When next she woke up she had soiled her diapers again. It was an unpleasant feeling, both the human waste and the utter helplessness of being a baby once again. She couldn't speak. She couldn't take care of even the most basic of necessities on her own. In fact she couldn't even get from one end of her crib to the other without extreme difficulty. Rei was forced to take the only recourse open to her.

She cried. While her body might be weak her lungs seemed to be the singular exception.

It was only a minute or two before her mother showed up. It was the middle of the night and she looked a bit worn around the edges but she still managed to smile adoringly down at baby Rei. Rei found herself beset by feelings and instincts she had not expected to possess. _Safe. Warm. Touch. Love. Smiles good._ Even though she had the memories and awareness of an adult her body seemed geared to instinctually form an emotional connection with her new mom. After careful consideration Rei decided to just go along with it and enjoy it.

It really worked out the best for everyone. Besides she could break the attachment later should it prove to be necessary. People broke away and had falling outs with their parents all the time after all.

After being cleaned and breast fed (it was criminal how comforting that was) her mother Emiko put her back in her crib and Rei pretended to fall asleep. When her mother left and the door shut behind her tiny Rei opened her eyes and set about contemplating her situation.

In her previous life she had read some of Naruto which is how she recognized the setting. In the distance she had seen the Hokage monument and that along with the Konoha headbands and everyone calling her parents 'Yamanaka-san' had finally broken through her denial. Somehow she had been born into the Yamanaka clan… and not just to any Yamanaka. While she couldn't remember if Ino's mom's name had been Emiko she knew her dad's name had been Inoichi. Rei's dad's name was Inoichi. It wasn't hard to do the math.

So Rei had to wonder; did she end up being born in place of Ino? Rei wasn't entirely comfortable with the thought. There really wasn't any way to know for sure one way or the other though. Not until she knew a lot more information that she didn't currently have.

Dread settled in her stomach as it all began to sink in. There was a good chance she was the Yamanaka clan heir. Not really what she wanted to be _at all_. Ideally she would have been part of a clan but some relatively unimportant member who would still receive all the benefits of being a 'clan kid'. Being the clan heir meant expectations. A lot of expectations. Expectations she had no inclination or desire to meet.

It also meant… a lifetime of war. A lifetime of fighting and killing. Quite possibly a very short lifetime. While lots of people thought the Naruto world would be a great place to be reborn (all the SI fanfictions point to that) the truth is that the price for being a ninja was too high in Rei's opinion. Ninja didn't retire. Ninja fought for the village until they died or were crippled enough to be forced into less active roles. There was no 401k and retirement to Arizona or Florida. No reprieve. No end in sight.

Being born into a ninja clan meant she was expected to die serving and fighting for Konohagakure. She had no choice. Fighting and dying for something she didn't know or care about was to be her lot in life.

Fuck. That. Noise.

It didn't take long for tiny Rei to decide the course her life would take. To her it seemed the only sensible option open to her if she didn't want to spend the rest of her life under the thumb and expectations of Konoha. She had to become strong enough to leave the village and make it on her own. Strong enough that no one would be willing to come after her. Strong enough that she could carve out a life for herself somewhere that didn't involve a lifetime of servitude to a totalitarian military dictatorship.

"Strong enough" was vague and Rei had always liked to quantify things in concrete terms. So she decided she would need to become S-Rank. While everyone else always lived in fear of Hunter-nin and the ninja villages S-Rank nin could do pretty much whatever they wanted.

Rei thought of the most prominent examples. Tsunade. Orochimaru. Every member of Akatsuki. They all gave the finger to their respective villages and could travel the world with relatively few worries knowing they could handle pretty much everything that was thrown at them. They didn't have to fight, kill and die because the Kage told them to. No one else but those stupidly strong S-Rank ninja could get away with living like that. Maybe Kakashi or Might Gai could but anyone weaker than that would most likely fall prey to teams of Hunter-nin or live in constant fear. It was then that Rei realized her own truth about the ninja world.

Power was freedom. Freedom was everything. Rei had no intention of being just another tool for Konohagakure.

And the canon story? The Madara and Infinite Tsukuyomi stuff? She wasn't sure how it ended but she did know that Naruto and crew took care of everything. Maybe Rei would help. However everyone had gotten along fine without her the first time. If she could help she would. But she wasn't setting out to save the world. Rei just wanted the option to choose her own path in life.

Now she just had to figure out how to become an S-Rank kunoichi as fast as possible. How the hell was she going to pull that off?


	2. Chapter 2

There was very little for Rei to do as a baby other than think. She thought she slept less than other babies though she couldn't be sure. It left a lot of free time… time that Rei wished she could spend doing something productive. Something to make her feel like she was moving closer to her goals.

Habits are hard to break and she was afraid lying around in a crib all day for years would make her lazy.

Thinking of the answer it wasn't long before it came to her; Chakra was a mix of spiritual and physical energy. Spiritual energy comes from studying, meditation and experience. In short the stronger and more disciplined the mind the stronger your spiritual energy should be. With little else to do Rei began to meditate for almost every single hour she was awake. It would lead to an imbalance to physical and spiritual energy in the short term but she hoped it would pay dividends by increasing her chakra capacity when she was older.

With nothing but long hours of meditation each day Rei's mind became very strong indeed.

000

Rei was somewhere around one year old when _it_ happened.

The Kyuuby. The Nine Tailed Fox. _Kurama_.

Try as she might Rei had always been fuzzy about feeling chakra up to that point. She thought she could feel her chakra when she meditated but she wasn't completely sure. The Kyuuby was helpful enough to hammer into Rei's mind what chakra felt like. When it was thick and cloying in the air all over Konoha like an oily fog chakra quickly became something very concrete for the girl. Rei felt like the noxious _malevolent_ chakra was choking her and she could believe the stories of how infants died just from the evil chakra of the beast alone.

It terrified Rei. It was panic inducing. The chakra was overwhelming for adults and for children it was many times worse. Some part of Rei's strengthening mind told her that she could either cry out in reaction to the feeling or curl up and – literally – die. Rei screamed and cried louder than she ever had before.

The Fox was death. Humans were not meant to confront such a thing.

Her mother Emiko burst into the room, breathing hard and panicked as her eyes sought Rei. Her mother's stomach was heavy with a very visible pregnancy as she quickly moved to the crib. Dressed in a robe that was barely decent Emiko scooped Rei up and ran out of the house.

Emiko pressed her daughter tight against her chest so much that Rei was having a hard time breathing. The baby girl could _feel_ her mom's panic through her shaky breath and hard limbs and this in turn increased Rei's own fear. Her mother ran and it was disorienting being pressed against her chest and not being able to see anything around her. All around her Rei could her all kinds of sounds, panicked yelling, people running, what sounded like fires and explosions in the distance. It was chaos and Rei was helpless to do anything but pray that her mother could get them to safety.

In the end they made it. It was ill lit and utilitarian in the emergency shelters but Rei hardly noticed. Emiko cried as she held her daughter and Rei wrapped her pudgy arms around her mom's neck while her own tears fell. They held each other, mother and daughter, both looking for comfort and wanting to give it at the same time. The chakra of the Fox alone would have been bad enough but with everything else going on it was too much.

Deep in the back of her mind the melody of her goal sung to Rei. The monsters in this world could take on a thing like that and _win_. She didn't want to feel this afraid ever again.

Never having to fear a thing like _that_ was a good enough reason to become S-Rank all by itself.

000

**_Two Years Old_**

"What does this one mean?" Rei asked, pointing with a chubby finger at a character she had never seen before.

They were sitting on a couch in the living room, Rei pressed up against the side of her mom as the woman held a children's book in her hands.

"That one means waterfall," said Emiko.

"Ohh I see. So then with this character and this one, this says the 'the boy runs to the yellow waterfall' right?"

"The boy _ran_ to the yellow waterfall. Very good Rei," said her mom with a strained smile. It was enough to fool a regular child but Rei could see the tightness around her eyes.

Yamanaka was the worst clan she could have been born in except for possibly the Nara if she wanted to hide that there was something unusual about her. After careful consideration Rei decided not to hide how smart she truly was. Rei had no patience for spending years pretending she had the mind of a toddler and she doubted she could truly hide everything from a people as observant as the Yamanakas. Better to break all the bell curves and let them draw their own conclusions. What was the worst they could do? She was the Yamanaka heir. She wasn't afraid of disappearing into Root – if Danzo could get away with kidnapping clan heirs he would already rule Konoha – and she wasn't afraid of becoming a ninja early on. It would only help in her mission to become more powerful as quickly as she could.

However she could see it truly troubled Emiko. Her first child was abnormal, someone who picked up and understood social cues no child so young should be able to grasp. She could sit and study written characters for hours and remember most of them perfectly after seeing them only once. Rei made some allowances for the sake of her mother – she acted childishly because it was fun, she smiled a lot and was just a bit clingy, making sure to give plenty of hugs to dull the edge of having a child who picked up things at a rate no child should. Rei loved Yamanaka Emiko because Emiko loved her. No matter what, however, Rei couldn't and wouldn't be the normal child Emiko wished she would be.

Emiko looked outside the window to the position of the sun and the length of the shadows. "It's about time to go. We'll read more later. Put on your shoes we're taking a little trip," she said running her hand through Rei's hair affectionately.

"Ok," said Rei with a sunny smile, hopping off the couch and running to do as she was told.

They left the house hand in hand with Rei sticking close to her mother. Though she had what she considered an adult mind there was still something intimidating about being not even waist high compared to most people on the streets. As they progressed Rei relaxed and took the time to look around in wonder. The village of Konoha was always a sight to see.

The first time she had been taken outside of the Yamanaka compound Rei had realized something that was both disturbing and in a way liberating. All throughout the village of Konoha were interspersed the huge looming figures of Hashirama trees. They existed between buildings, in the middle of roads forcing them to go around, in the middle of the parks. Everywhere inside Konoha the huge trees stood, their branches reaching high into the sky and blocking the worst of the oppressive summer sun. Rope bridges linked them all in a criss crossing network overhead and one could regularly catch glimpses of ninjas using the trees as a quick means of travel. Detritus from the trees seemed to constantly fill the streets but it was much more charming than it was an annoyance. In a lot of ways Konoha was indistinguishable from the forest that surrounded it. The village was very much aptly named 'The Village Hidden in the Leaves'.

However the trees had not been there in that story she had half-read, half-known from hearsay in her past life. It meant that what she had read had not been perfect. What she had read about how Konoha looked had been wrong.

It had been _wrong_.

What else had the story been wrong about? What else was it right about? Rei no longer had the advantage of assuming she knew how everything was going to play out. Everything was thrown into doubt. Was there even a Madara? Was there going to be a Sand-Sound war? Was there even a Naruto in this world?

She didn't know. It was at the same time both frightening and liberating.

_You don't have to feel responsible if you don't know._

They walked for about twenty minutes until they came upon a set of ornate but functional wooden gates. Rei looked up to read the plaque above the door. It read "Nara Clan".

A young dark haired man greeted them at the gate and bowed deeply. "Yamanaka-san, a pleasure to see you. Would you like to come in?" he asked politely but you could tell his sincerity was not faked. As a general rule the Yamanaka and Nara considered each other close friends and Emiko was well known and liked. Warm greetings between the two came almost on reflex.

"Hello Uryo-kun. I would love to but I'm afraid I can't today. I only came by to pick up some medicine. Toshoka-san said it would be ready around this time. Do you think you could do me the favor of going to see if she has it ready?" said her mom with a warm smile.

"Of course Yamanaka-san. I'll find out right away," said the young Nara before running off.

Half an hour later they were back home entering Rei's room on the second floor of their two story house. Inside Rei instantly saw Yua, an elderly aunt who helped Emiko look after the kids when she needed the help. Yua was sitting on a chair holding a tiny bundle in her arms.

"Hello Yua. I got the medicine," said her mother moving to the side of the old woman.

"Oh good," she said in a voice that was scratchy from age, "Ino-chan's cough hasn't gotten any better. It was starting to worry me."

Rei felt an uncomfortable twist in her stomach when she heard that. She stayed quiet and stood in a corner as she watched her mother unwrap Ino from the bundle she had been wrapped up on. Coughs from a too-tiny body broke the silence. Emiko made soft soothing and cooing sounds as she began to rub the salve she had gotten from the Naras on Ino's chest. Ino squirmed and coughed but thankfully didn't cry. The squirming baby tended to do a lot more of than Rei would have liked.

"Nara-san said the medicine should make her sleepy. I'll put her to bed now. You can go if you want Yua I'll be staying home for the rest of the day," said her mom.

"Yes, I think I'll have a bit of a nap myself. I'll get out of your hair," the old woman said.

"Nonsense, you're always welcome here," said Emiko with a smile. Rei concurred. Yua was nice to have around.

The old woman got to her feet and went over to say hi to Rei before leaving to return to her own home. Her mom was already putting Ino in her crib and Rei could see the little girl was already asleep. Thankfully the coughs seemed to have stopped.

"Come on Rei," Emiko whispered after tucking the baby in "let's go downstairs and you can help me with dinner."

Rei shook her head. "I'll be down in a little bit. I just want to stay with Ino for a while."

Her mother had that crinkling look of worry around her eyes. "Are you sure?"

Rei nodded.

Emiko let out a little sigh. "Well I suppose that's all right. Don't take too long and don't wake up your sister."

"I won't," Rei promised with a big impish smile.

Emiko made an exasperated noise, smiled warmly at Rei, mussed her hair and headed downstairs.

When she was gone Rei let out a tired sigh that sounded much too old for a child her size. Rei loved her mother. She loved her dad too. They were adults though and she had the mind of an adult. It somehow made it easier. They weren't _that_ dangerous to her plans on an emotional level. While she cared for them she didn't feel responsible for them.

Rei turned to look at the little bundle sleeping peacefully and smelling faintly of medicine. Almost on their own her feet took her to the side of the crib.

There she was. Yamanaka Ino. One of the 'Rookie 9'. Not critical to the story as far as she could remember but certainly part of the main cast. Pretty, confident, bossy Ino. Someone Rei couldn't remember if she had become a strong ninja or not which probably meant she hadn't really stood out.

_That_ girl was dangerous. Because from the moment she had seen her the day her parents brought her home Rei had fallen completely in love. Ino was only seven months old and Rei already knew would take a bullet for her with hardly a second thought. She had known that for a long time now.

"What am I going to do? Are you going to hate me Ino?" Rei whispered as she reached through the bars and held Ino's tiny hand. In her sleep Ino's hand tightened around her fingers in reflex.

Ino would grow up in Konoha and she would be helpless against their indoctrination. Will of Fire. Fight and die for Konoha, it is your duty and anyone who shrinks that duty is trash. Not even worthy of life. Despised by everyone. Follow the Hokage, follow your orders, that is the only way you will be worth anything.

Rei hated it. It clashed horribly with her sensibilities. And she hated that Ino would grow up being fed that propaganda.

Could Rei do something to stop it, mitigate it? She had considered that and knew the answer was mostly no. Rei could try to instill some independent thought in Ino but anything that went directly against Konoha doctrine would be a terrible idea. That kind of thing brought scrutiny. In the end anything that overt would be a failure.

She could try to help but in the end there was nothing she could do but watch this helpless little bundle she loved be brainwashed like all the others. The thought _burned_.

Even if it would hurt Rei would still leave when she was strong enough. This life was fascinating. There were so many things she could do that no one would have even dreamed of in her past life. She wasn't going to waste it all by dying in some war for some dictator she didn't know or care about.

Rei would do everything she could for Ino until the time came. Then she would leave and never look back.

**000**

**AN: How do you like it so far? Leave me a review. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3** **  
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**000  
><em><br>Two Years Old_**

Rei stood on a step stool in front of the sink brushing her teeth while being careful not to stab herself in the mouth. After a few minutes of diligently cleaning her teeth in the fashion she remembered (which was different than how they did it in Konoha) Rei spit out the 'tooth paste' and rinsed her mouth. Tooth paste in Konoha was a stubby jar filled with a thick oily substance made of herbs that was supposed to be good for oral health. It smelled and tasted like rosemary.

She looked at her toothbrush. It was made of waterproofed wood with stiff bristles and a triangular head. The tips were pointy almost as if it were a weapon. It seemed stupid to stick something with any kind of point in your mouth even if it wouldn't do any serious damage. So why do it? Rei theorized it was to increase awareness so you couldn't just brush your teeth absentmindedly. Lose focus while brushing and you might poke your gums by accident.

Everything was training. Even personal grooming appliances, it seemed, had an eye towards the ninja life. Sometimes she still forgot she was in a new and alien world. Other times it couldn't be more obvious.

Her looks were very different from her last life too. Rei looked at herself in the mirror examining her features. In some ways she looked every inch the Yamanaka and in other ways she did not. Her features seemed to be pure Yamanaka, high cheekbones and small nose along with their blonde hair in a shade of honey. However her hair was unusual in that it fell in thick natural ringlets and her eyes were a piercing shade of lilac. According to her dad only his great grandmother had had eyes like hers and no one in the clan had ever had ringlets like she did.

Maybe they came from her mother who had married into the clan. It was hard to know since genetics in this world seemed to work somewhat differently than they had in hers. Rei however liked to think of her ringlets as a holdover from her last world, some kind of physical proof that said it wasn't all in her head. No one in this world that she had met thus far had ringlets like she did.

In her weaker moments it was easy to wonder if her memories had all been some kind of dream. They weren't but a touchstone with reality was nice to have. The curls in her hair would do just as well as anything else.

000

It was chilly that night in their back porch from a breeze that came all the way from the sea. It was autumn and though trees in the Land of Fire never lost all their leaves at a certain time of year they tended to shed their older ones to make room for the new. The whole of Konoha was covered in a thin layer of leaves at those times of the year, falling from the giant sentinels that were the Harashima trees spread throughout the village. Rei wondered if there was any truth to the claim that the spirit of the First Hokage lived on in those trees and that he watched over the children of Konohagakure even from beyond the grave.

Their two story house was at the very back of the Yamanaka compound pressed up against the giant walls of Konoha that stood an impressive fifteen meters tall. Their back porch was what in her last world she would have called a curious mix of Easten and Western design painted in shades of bright red and warm sunflower yellow. Paper lanterns provided illumination and the overall effect was very peaceful. The backyard was large and empty save for a few training posts and one of the iconic Harashima trees near the wall.

Rei sat at the edge of the porch and listened to the wind rustle the fallen leaves and jingle the wind chimes. The girl could see why some people claimed to fall in love with Konoha. Under the trees it was almost like living in a magical forest, cocooned and protected from the world outside the walls. There was definitely something special about the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

The girl thought she might miss it when she was gone but probably not too much. She was a creature of wanderlust first and foremost and the promise of new places was home in her heart. Still there was no reason not to enjoy Konoha while she remained. It would probably be a good many years before she had the opportunity to leave.

With that in her mind Rei jumped down into the grass and picked up a fresh fallen leaf. She had yet to try the leaf sticking exercise and for a few weeks she had been putting it off. In a way chakra control exercises like she had read about in her past life would be a milestone. In Rei's own head it would mean she was committed to the way of the ninja and to coming out the other end strong enough to choose her own path. It also meant a lot of pain, a lot of suffering, and more likely than not a lot of killing on her part before she made it to the other end.

Did killing people to achieve her goal make her a terrible person? Wasn't she destined to be a killer anyway unless she chose the _other_ way out and took her own life?

Rei knew she had already decided a long time ago but was only stalling now. She couldn't indulge in that kind of thing often if she was going to become an S-Rank nin.

With deliberate care Rei placed the leaf on her forehead and concentrated her chakra to a point. By now the feeling of chakra was instinctual and came easily. Part of Rei fully expected to be able to do the exercise right away.

The leaf fell off her forehead without the slightest bit of resistance. Rei frowned. This was going to take some doing.

Rei caught the leaf before it hit the floor and put it back on her forehead, this time channeling as much chakra as she could manage onto the leaf. She could feel the leaf trying to jump out of her fingers as she concentrated too much chakra on it. Over the next thirty minutes Rei played with the amount of chakra channeled into the leaf trying to find the perfect chakra 'intensity' to get it to stick.

_My chakra control is terrible. I guess there's a difference between being able to feel your chakra really well and controlling it._

It took a while but eventually Rei had success. She cautiously pulled her hand away and the leaf stuck to her head. As an experiment she bent over to see if the leaf would fall off. It didn't.

This set Rei off. It was like magic. She'd found a magic trick and could make leaves stick to her forehead. The girl started giggling and then laughing out loud. It was wonderful. It was great! The first silly little thing she'd been able to do with chakra and she felt as if she'd just learned the Chidori and not some extremely basic chakra control exercise.

It was amazing and she couldn't help but laugh and laugh.

It was around that time that her mom came out onto the porch drawn by all the noise. Rei spun to face her with the leaf stuck on her forehead and acted every bit the two year old that she was.

"Look mommy look! Look what I can do," she said with a huge grin on her face.

Emiko's reaction surprised her and if Rei had really been a kid or not paying attention she would have missed it. Her eyes widened before narrowing slightly. Her gaze flickered quickly across the backyard doing a cursory perimeter check. Rei was confused until Emiko turned to her and spoke with her serious "I am the grown-up" voice.

"Where did you learn that?" she asked.

Rei's eyes widened in surprise and the leaf fell from her forehead as the shock caused her to lose her concentration. Her mother was serious. Her mother was… suspicious. Wary. Looking for the piece that didn't fit and looking like she wanted to do something about it.

Thinking quickly Rei thought, who was she suspicious of? Was she suspicious of her? Was she suspicious of a hypothetical someone else who might be teaching her behind her parent's back? Her mother's face didn't give very much away.

"I uh, everyone knows about it. I think. It's a really common chakra control exercise isn't it? I've heard people talking about it."

"What people?"

Rei shrugged, "I don't know, I don't remember. Just around. Am I in trouble?" she asked, putting just enough whine and pout into her voice.

Thankfully her mother's face softened at that. "No you're not in trouble. You're just so young and you shouldn't have people telling you about that yet," she said. Emiko moved to pick her up and Rei let her raising her arms as the older woman bent down.

_That was scary and too close. What if I had been caught doing something I couldn't easily explain away? Being a little kid worked for me in this case. Ninja are suspicious and observant by nature even when it comes to their children. I've got to be more careful. If what I have in my head and what I'm planning gets out… a jail cell would be the best case scenario._

Rei buried her face in her mom's neck as the woman carried her inside. It was funny that her mom had been the one that scared her and at the same time she was the one she was taking comfort in. Rei couldn't find it in herself to hold it against her. What else would her mother do? She was a trained kunoichi. They would react as they were taught and nothing she did was going to change that.

When they were passing the living room Rei asked, "Mommy? Can you show me how to be a ninja?"

Emiko hugged her daughter tight and Rei thought something about the question had caused her pain. Then she pulled back enough to look at Rei in the face. "You're too young Rei. Even the brightest prodigies don't start any kind of training until they're three."

"Please mom? You don't have to show me anything big. Just a few things."

"I don't know…" she said, "you're already growing up so fast Rei-chan. You should spend some more time enjoying being a kid. It is a good time that only comes around once in a lifetime," said Emiko but there was a pain and vulnerability in her eyes that told Rei her mom thought she was just holding off the inevitable. From what Rei understood it was unheard of for ninja families not to provide training to their children especially when they _asked_ for it. It simply wasn't done. Her mother was putting aside what was expected of her to do what she thought was best Rei. That action caused Rei's respect and fondness for the woman to grow even more.

Still Rei wouldn't be deterred. The sooner she started the better. She would make it up to her mom later but it was time to show her mother how mature 'Rei-chan' could be.

"Mother," she began, "I know I'm too young to be able to do everything. I'm not asking for that. I just want you to teach me some chakra control exercises and maybe some preliminary taijutsu exercises. Like stretches and stuff. That isn't asking too much is it?" asked Rei trying to strike the perfect balance between intelligence well beyond her years and child-like vulnerability.

By the way her mother stopped moving and _looked_ at Rei she could tell her mature response and large vocabulary had surprised her. Emiko looked at her and Rei looked at her right back letting her mother see the determination in her face and eyes. After locking gazes for a few seconds Emiko sighed in defeat.

"Some chakra control exercises and stretches _only_. And you'll do them in front of me until I'm convinced you can do them without hurting yourself. Is that clear?" Emiko said seriously but with a hint of a smile on her lips.

A grin spread across Rei's face and her lilac eyes sparkled. "Yes mommy. I promise."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**000**

**_Three Years Old _**

Rei didn't sleep anymore.

She still needed rest. Her body would lay in bed at night motionless and breathing deep like a regular person. However her mind remained aware. Aware of her surroundings and most of all aware of her chakra.

It was probably a side effect of so much meditation and chakra control exercises at such an early age… or so Rei theorized. In her 'sleep' her mind would travel with her chakra riding the eddies and flows of it as it cycled through her chakra network. She could direct it after a fashion as she slept but more importantly she could _feel_ it. The more time passed the more intimate and familiar Rei became with her chakra.

Perhaps the idea was a holdover from her previous life but Rei thought that the more she felt and observed her chakra every night the more she would come to understand it. The more she understood she theorized the more she would be able to do. It didn't seem to have any immediate benefits in the short term but in the long term Rei was willing to bet her deepening understanding of chakra would pay dividends.

It was logical to her really and it seemed a shame that most ninja were primarily concerned with forcing their chakra into destructive and useful techniques. Chakra was the very essence of life and it was much more wonderful and vast than a simple tool for war. It was both mind and body and the interface between the two. From her memories she knew chakra could even be used to affect and interact with your very soul. The potential for personal growth and understanding seemed limitless. An entire spiritual tradition could be founded on the study of chakra alone.

All that potential and these people could only think about using it for war? Barbarians. Every last one of them barbarians.

As she 'slept' Rei could hear muffled voices from downstairs. Gently she nudged her chakra towards her inner ear. Briefly curious about what was going on she enhanced her hearing enough to make out what the voices downstairs were saying.

"-ys about Shogi? There are other games out there. Go for instance. I think there's something very elegant and peaceful about a game of Go."

"Shogi is the most useful game for refining strategic thinking. Go on the other hand is simplistic by comparison. Very little useful strategy to be found there."

Ah, her dad and Shikaku-san. Now she knew what was going on and why they were being so loud… loud for shinobi anyway.

"Honestly the two of you have been arguing about the merits of Go and Shogi for fifteen years now," said a playful voice in a long suffering tone, "and we always end up playing cards at the end of it. Why don't you just break them out already Inoichi?"

Choza. It was just the three of them getting the old team together for drinks and a few games like they did from time to time. The three of them would always get rowdier around each other than you would expect from veteran ninja.

Rei only listened with half an ear from then on as she focused on resting and on what her chakra was naturally doing in her body. Throughout the night they never talked about anything exciting or interesting. Even though they let their guard down around each other they were still professionals and would never talk about anything sensitive in that volume where others might hear them. Walls in Konoha were not very thick and everyone had tricks for snooping on private conversations.

Rei had completely tuned them out until hearing her own name caught her attention.

"How are Rei-chan and Ino-chan?" she heard Shikaku ask.

"Good good. Healthy. We just started showing Ino the basics of holding a brush so she's at that stage where she gets ink all over everything while learning the basic strokes," Inoichi replied and Rei could hear the fondness in his voice.

"That's messy. She'll grow out of it," Shikaku replied with a grunt.

"What about Rei-chan? Is she as smart as your wife says she is? Emiko told my Chiharu all about it but she wasn't convinced that she wasn't exaggerating," said Choza.

There was a pause. "Yeah she is. It's scary sometimes how quickly she picks things up. Sometimes I even get the impression she tries to dumb down how smart she is so she doesn't make me or Emiko uncomfortable. She never has the patience to stick with it for very long though."

Choza let out a low whistle. "So she's one of those kids then?"

Another pause. "Yeah I think so. In my mind there is no doubt that she's a natural born genius. My little Rei-chan is like Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi," said her dad his voice an odd mix of pride and weariness.

"And Orochimaru," said Shikaku.

"Don't even joke about that!" said Choza sharply.

The conversation drifted to different topics after that and Rei was left to ponder what she had just heard. She had, intellectually, known that she would very soon be labeled with the moniker 'genius'. It was still surprising to hear it all the same and even more surprising to be spoken of in the same breath as Kakashi, Itachi and Orochimaru.

Labels had a lot more power in Konoha than they did in her previous world. Instead of being thought of as a bad things labels in the ninja world were treated as a decree from Heaven – there was an almost unconscious assumption that you knew everything about a person by the label they were given. It probably stemmed from the general culture of not questioning things unless there was a damned good reason to do so. It now made a lot more sense how an entire populace could turn their collective backs on a little boy if he was known to carry the label "demon."

The label "genius" carried a lot of assumptions and expectations. She would be expected to outperform all her peers in every single area, be they ninja arts, shogi or calligraphy. Somehow in the ninja world being a "genius" meant that you were better than everyone else at everything. It was amusing thinking of world famous scientists back in her old world also being expected to be the best at boxing, track and field, ikebana and everything else under the sun.

People with a brain knew it was unrealistic but that didn't totally curve their collective cultural expectation of what a "genius" should be. If Rei fell behind in some area it would be assumed that it was because she "wasn't trying hard enough" or "she doesn't like it so she was being contrary". The pressure on a genius was massive and Rei suddenly had a lot more sympathy for Kakashi and especially Itachi. Perhaps even a bit for Orochimaru. Living with that sort of pressure would warp anyone.

Luckily for Rei she gave crap all about meeting people's expectations. She didn't crave the approval of her parents, her peers or her teachers. She didn't care for people's accolades. In the end she only cared about one thing: her goal. Become an S-Rank ninja. Leave the military dictatorship of Konohogakure no Sato behind and choose how to live her own life. That was her singular goal and everything else was only baggage.

In fact being labeled as a 'genius' would probably help her. In a lot of ways it could be argued that reputation was just as important as skill for her goals. If everyone knew her as a 'genius' people would think twice before coming after her.

Rei tried hard not to think about if she could really match up to the likes of Itachi and Orochimaru. Instead she let her thoughts be carried away by the blue river of chakra flowing through her body and mind. Those kinds of thoughts wouldn't help. Deepening her understanding of chakra would.

000

_Punch, punch, kick. Punch, punch, kick. _

Rei was in the back yard doggedly drilling the very, very basic taijutsu combinations she had been taught. At three years old she wouldn't be beating anyone up but this kind of exercise began to train a dizzying myriad of things that were important for a ninja. Most important among them was the ability to be self-disciplined and self-motivated.

_Punch, punch, kick. Punch, punch, kick._

She'd had _some_ martial arts training in her past life but she didn't dare try any of those moves even in private. People would inevitably ask _where did you learn that?_ and she might not be able to deflect them with an evasive answer. No the best thing to do was to forget everything she knew and start fresh. Right now that meant drilling the same short tedious combo over and over again.

_Punch, punch, kick. Punch, punch, kick._

Was it all a matter of effort? Did she have any real talent? She didn't know and it was too soon to tell. However even if she didn't have talent she could be like Rock Lee. He was completely talentless but once he found a good teacher he made something of himself. Then again she doubted she would be quite that bad. She remembered a quote from her old world. _If you focus you will succeed_. By focus they had meant complete focus, devoting everything you are and everything you have to a single goal. That is what she would have to do.

_Punch, punch, kick. Punch, punch, k- _

"Nee-chan! What you doing?" came a loud childish voice behind her.

Rei faltered mid kick, stumbled and almost fell. She barely got her feet under her in time and shuffled around a bit before she found her balance. Taking a deep breath Rei did her best to reign in her irritation at being interrupted.

"Ino," she began as she turned around "I'm training to become a ninja. What are you doing out here?"

Two year old Ino was adorable. With large bright blue eyes and platinum blonde hair she would have easily made the cover of some Scandinavian baby magazine back in her old world. She was dragging her favorite stuffed tanuki by the foot and was looking down at the ground while pointing her feet together.

"Nothin'" she said shyly. Then she stuck her thumb in her mouth.

Rei sighed. She'd never had a sibling in her past life and wasn't a hundred percent sure how to deal with Ino. Recently the toddler had taking to following her big sister everywhere she went. It was really cute and part of Rei really enjoyed being Ino's 'favorite person'. Still having a clingy two year old could make it awkward to practice. Rei needed to train and she couldn't afford to get distracted.

She walked up to Ino and ran a hand through her platinum locks. "Well your Nee-sama needs to practice Ino-chan. If you want you can sit in the shade and watch me. I'll be right here practicing like dad told me to, all right?"

Ino looked up at her big sister and nodded before going to sit on the porch. Rei made sure to stand as close as she could without risk of hitting her little sister.

She had told Ino a little white lie. Their father hadn't told Rei to practice. She was doing that all on her own but she thought Ino was less likely to interrupt if she though Rei was doing something her parents wanted her to do. In reality her parents rarely encouraged her to train. Rei found it odd but she didn't need people nagging her in order to make good use of her time.

She took her stance as she had been shown and began the drill over again._ Punch, punch, kick. Punch, punch, kick. _

Rei supposed she should count herself lucky that Ino stayed silent for a whole ten minutes before speaking up.

"Nee-chan, I'm thirsty. Can you gwet me some juice?"

Rei didn't stop but kept right on punching. "Why don't you ask mom?" she asked while huffing for breath.

"I want you to do it," she whined.

Rei made an annoyed sound in her throat and stopped. Maybe it wouldn't be bad to take a break. She was already sweaty, breathing hard and her side hurt. Even with chakra doing more than ten minutes of hard non-stop physical activity as a three year old was pushing it. Besides she had only recently begun doing the taijutsu. She would need time to build up her stamina.

"Fine. But then it's time for your nap. Deal?"

Ino stuck her thumb in her mouth and simply nodded.

Rei led the way back into the house with Ino following behind like a lost puppy. She was halfway to the kitchen when Ino slipped her smaller hand into hers.

_I'm so screwed_ thought Rei dramatically.

Rei loved her new mother and father but because of her adult mind she built some emotional walls between them. She had no such protection against Ino and the little girl had slipped past every one of her defenses. Rei would not abandon her plan for anyone but it would tear her up inside to leave her little sister behind.

_Maybe I can take her with me?_ It seemed an unlikely plan. Too many things that were out of her control would have to go right for that to happen. However that didn't mean she wouldn't be on the lookout for the possibility.

It would all depend on what Ino wanted really.

They reached the kitchen and Ino let go of her hand. Opening the refrigerator and pulling out the jug of juice was the easy part. The hard part for a three year old was getting up on the counter so she could reach the cabinets and pull out Ino's spill proof cup.

_At least they talked about this sort of thing in front of me so I have a legit excuse ready if they catch me _thought Rei as she reached up and placed her hands over the lip of the counter.

Using her chakra she stuck her hands to the counter and enhancing her muscles she jumped and pulled herself up on the counter fairly easily. Ino watched her with wide eyes amazed that her sister could get _all the way up there_ on her own so easily. It was simply amazing to her two year old mind.

Rei quickly and efficiently pulled out cups for Ino and herself and filled them up with juice. She jumped down off the counter with a little flourish and presented the spill proof cup to Ino like fancy waiter showing off an expensive bottle of wine.

"Your drink as requested miss," said Rei in a faux noble accent.

Ino giggled and took the sippy-cup from her sister. "You're silly," she said.

"Well I try," replied Rei with a wink.

As Ino drank her juice Rei put everything back in place and drank from her own regular cup. They stood in the kitchen as Ino started babbling about her stuffed tanuki called Tanuki-chan and all the different things they'd done together the day before. Rei listened with an indulgent smile while adding her own commentary here and there to make Ino laugh. It was simple memories like those with Ino that would stick out the most when she thought back to this point in her life years later.

When they finished Rei put their cups in the sink before saying, "All right you got your juice. It's time for your nap."

Thankfully Ino didn't protest – it was about fifty/fifty if she would – and Rei led her by the hand upstairs to their shared room. As they entered Rei eyed the two twin sized beds pushed to either side of the room. In reality there were enough rooms in the house for each of them to have their own but Konoha culture said it was better for young children to share a room. Sometimes it was annoying but usually Rei didn't mind.

Especially when Ino would slip into her bed and curl up with her at night. It was a guilty pleasure of hers.

Quickly and efficiently Rei put her to bed as the two of them were used to the ritual by now. Their mother was the one to do it most of the time but it wasn't that unusual for Rei to be the one taking care of her sister. In Konoha it was less 'how old are you' and more 'what can we reasonably trust you with'.

Rei bent down and quickly kissed her sister on the forehead. "Sleep well little one."

The older girl could tell her sister was tempted to ask her to stay but instead she just hugged Tanuki-chan. "M'kay g'night."

Rei thought about correcting her that it wasn't really night time but instead she just slipped out of the room and quietly headed back downstairs.

As she was walking it occurred to her that she didn't remember what became of Ino in the story. Rei never quite got to the end and Ino was such a minor character later on she simply couldn't remember what happened to her after the fight with Hidan. It bothered her. It bothered her a lot. For all she knew Ino could have died along with Neji, Shikaku and so many others.

There were too many unknowns. The sad truth was that eventually her sister would probably end up dying fighting for Konohagakure even if she survived the war. It was practically how every ninja was destined to go. Used hard and dead before thirty.

_This world is so fucked up._

It was an endless spiral of death and more death. In an economy entirely dependent on violence how could there ever be any real peace? A 'Darwinian Society' at its finest. There was nothing Rei could do about it though. So she went out back and continued doing the only thing she really could do.

_Punch, punch, kick. Punch, punch, kick. _


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

**000**

**_Five Years Old _**

Three targets stood at long rage on the other side of the yard some twenty meters distant. Shuriken hung in between her fingers as she contemplated the targets downrange. It was much further than what she was used to practicing. However a few days before one of her aunts had mentioned that a good Chunin was expected to be able to hit targets at twenty meters. Rei had taken it as a personal challenge to be able to do so as soon as possible.

It was proving to be somewhat harder than she had expected.

Slowly and deliberately Rei started feeding chakra into her muscles. In her experimentations she found that she could get a little extra boost to her enhanced strength if she fed her muscles chakra gradually and naturally rather than all at once.

When Rei felt all her muscles filled to the brim she exploded into motion. She let loose the six shuriken in between her fingers and before they were half way to their targets Rei dashed left while reaching into her pouch for another weapon. The warm handle of a kunai met her palm as she gripped her feet to the ground with chakra coming to an otherwise impossible stop. In the same motion she let loose the kunai at the left most target with disciplined skill. Rei changed directions and sprinted, throwing a kunai on the run and then another one as she came to a sudden stop and changed directions yet again.

The young girl with the honey-blonde hair sprinted back and forth in front of her targets several more times letting lose a barrage of kunai until her pouch ran empty. Then she stopped, her breathing only slightly hard from the sudden flurry of activity. After stretching her back and letting her chakra return to normal Rei walked downrange to retrieve her weapons and see how she did.

The results were mixed. On the one hand she was very happy that for the first time all her weapons had hit the targets. She had missed almost half of them the first time she had attempted the same exercise. On the other hand the groupings of her weapons were all over the place and she almost never hit the exact spot she was aiming for.

"Mada mada dane," she murmured echoing a show she had enjoyed in her last world.

As she pulled out the weapons and replaced them in her pouch Rei pondered her weapons training. Proficiency with kunai and shuriken were fundamental to a ninja and she could hardly become a high level nin if she couldn't use them expertly. However she very much doubted she would become another Tenten. Thrown weapons were all well and good but they didn't quite feel right. They didn't 'sing' in her hand. She kinda wished they would.

Well whatever. She had plenty of necessary things to work on and she could worry about finding her own style once she got the fundamentals down. It had been drilled in her over and over again that it was ultimately the fundamentals that made the ninja.

It made sense. There were Jounin out there who reached their rank using only the fundamentals but there were exactly zero Jounin who were shitty at weapons and taijutsu. While not as exciting as learning ninjutsu Rei knew it would pay off in the long run.

Rei ran the drill six more times, each time her weapon groupings hitting just a little bit tighter. She eventually had to stop when she heard her mother calling her name.

"Rei! Come here," her mother called out to her.

Rei obediently stopped and walked over to her mother hiding her irritation at being interrupted with the ease of practice. Instead of sulking she offered her mother a mostly sincere smile.

"Yes mom? What is it? It's too early to stop my training you know," she said with mock seriousness.

"I know honey but you'll have to make an exception today. We're receiving a very important guest in the clan hall tonight and you need to be there to greet him. You'll need to get cleaned up and dress up for the occasion," said her mother. She seemed happy and a little nervous about the prospect.

Rei tilted her head questioningly. She hadn't heard about this. "Who are we receiving?"

"The Hokage," she said with a smile like a celebrity was coming to grace her front porch. Rei supposed that in a way that was exactly what was happening from her mother's perspective.

"Huh," said Rei thoughtfully. She had heard some months before that every three years it was tradition that the Hokage would visit and dine with every major clan in Konoha and his visits happened to be scheduled for this year. Apparently there was a great deal of political tea-leaf reading that went into what order the Hokage chose to visit the clans, who he spoke to and exactly what was said. Personal visits from the Hokage were rare and everyone treated these dinners like they were a Really Big Deal. It all sounded extremely – if she might steal a word – troublesome to her but she guessed that was all part of how the political sausage was made in Konoha.

Rei had known the much expected visit from the Hokage was coming sometime this year. She just hadn't expected it to arrive so suddenly. Then again who would go out of their way to keep a five year old abreast of such things?

"When do we have to leave?" she asked.

"In about two hours. I already put out a kimono for you to wear. Hurry up and take a shower then I'll help you do your hair."

Rei winced at that. Her thick ringlets never wanted to settle into the traditional elaborate hair styles. It was always a painful experience and the result never looked quite right. Those traditional hairstyles were meant for people with straight hair, not those that had natural sausage fat curls like she did.

Still Rei wasn't inclined to make a fuss. Rei managed to get her way in a surprising number of things but she didn't want to push her luck. Being anything less than "perfect" for the Hokage was _not_ something her mother would tolerate from her. Everyone was eager to make a good impression.

"Ok mom, I'll go get dolled up for the shindig," said in a resigned voice.

Her mom looked at her oddly because of her odd turn of phrase.

Rei just smiled brightly and walked past her into the house. By now everyone was resigned to the fact she was a little strange. She didn't care. What use was life if she didn't have a little fun with it?

It was the prerogative of being a genius wasn't it? You get to be a weirdo.

She went into the upstairs bathroom, disrobed and turned on the shower. The shower was tiled blue very much like the bathrooms in her last life. As she washed her hair with a mix of herbs and oils Rei wondered at meeting with the Hokage. Even though Rei was irreverent when it came to figures of authority in this world she couldn't help but feel somewhat nervous. The Hokage was a bigger than life figure and she could admit even she hadn't been completely unaffected by the seemingly endless tales of accomplishments attributed to the Third Hokage. The man was a legend and if what she remembered from the story was accurate he was impressive enough to live up to the hype even at his advanced age.

There was a saying in the ninja world. _Fear old ninja. They are alive for a reason._

Suddenly Rei was worried. She had briefly met other Jounin but no one as accomplished as the Hokage. Decade after decade of leading Konoha from behind a desk where his main opponents were politics and bureaucracy the man could probably spot a person selling him bullshit a mile away. Would he be able to tell there was something truly unusual about her? Would he somehow be able to piece together that she had no intention of adopting his precious "Will of Fire"? That she was planning on becoming a "traitor" by abandoning the village?

Rei knew she was being unreasonably paranoid but the stories always made it sound like the Hokage could do anything short of making the sun rise at midnight. He was also the man who held the power of life and death over her and everyone in the village. How could someone not be at least a little bit on edge when meeting him? Though it was unlikely one couldn't help but wonder if the man would order your execution if you offended him badly enough. It didn't matter that the odds of that happening were slim to none. The threat that he could was enough to give a person pause.

Finishing her shower Rei dried herself with a towel and headed to the room she shared with Ino. On her bed neatly laid out was an expensive pink formal kimono with flower patterns in light green and white. It was brand new and Rei had to wonder if her mother had bought it for just this occasion.

_I don't even like pink_ Rei thought. It seemed that in both worlds it was just assumed young girls would like things in that color. While it wasn't her favorite color the kimono was still beautiful and the shade of pink was thankfully tastefully muted.

She quickly dressed and put on the matching obi before going to look for her mother. Rei found her sitting on the vanity in her room putting the last touches on her hair.

Emiko looked over and smiled. "It looks wonderful on you. Though you didn't tie the obi quite right again."

Over the next thirty minutes Rei had to sit and tolerate her mother fussing over her and trying to wrestle her curls into submission so they would conform more or less to the expected traditional style. The result was something that looked more or less like it was supposed to even if it felt like half her head was covered in pins and clips.

Seeing her blonde hair and lilac eyes in what was almost indistinguishable from traditional Japanese garb made her feel like she was a Western girl playing dress up. However in the elemental nations there was nothing unusual about blondes and redheads in formal kimonos. Rei found it a bit surprising that even after five years little things like that could still be jarring.

"Come on. It's time," said her mother leading her out of the room.

Night had already fallen as Emiko led Rei out of the house. They turned down a well maintained street with traditional houses on both sides. Paper lanterns with the Yamanaka clan symbol were hung on posts at regular intervals providing lighting for the first half of the night. There were rather more paper lanterns out that night and the streets were more well lit than usual. This she suspected the extra effort had been made on behalf of the Hokage.

Emiko led them into a large building where clan meetings and other important events held in the Yamanaka compound took place. It strangely reminded Rei of a mead hall. A large sunken foyer greeted them at the entrance and this led to a spacious raised dining area capable of holding over a hundred people. Lanterns were everywhere and here they were made of glass instead of paper as was more common. Everything else was made of polished wood and Rei wondered if the First Hokage's Mokuton had been responsible for creating the building in the first place.

Clan members already gathered were standing and speaking quietly in small groups. Rei spotted her father who was engaged in a serious looking conversation with a couple of veteran Chunin. Her mother left him alone and instead steered them towards a small group of women quietly speaking to each other. The group of them in their colorful kimonos brought to mind an especially pretty flock of birds.

"Good evening ladies. Hokako-san, that kimono looks wonderful on you," said her mother quickly inserting herself into the group gracefully but without much subtlety.

"Thank you Emiko-san. You and Rei-chan look divine," the other woman replied with an easy smile.

Rei replied gracefully to the compliments she received but otherwise tuned the women out. It seemed that in any world women loved to gossip and Rei wasn't the least bit interested in the latest bit of drama going on in the clan. She passed the time people watching as more and more ninja of the clan slowly trickled in. The hall wasn't big enough to accommodate every clansman and only the most prominent ones would be in attendance. Though she knew she was the heir Rei still found it odd to think of herself as one of the most prominent people in the Yamanaka clan. In a lot of ways Rei suspected she would always feel like something of an outsider.

Eventually the doors opened and in walked Yamanaka Toshiaki who was the current head of the Yamanaka clan. He was a tall and reed thin with greying blonde hair who was somewhere in between middle aged and elderly. Still the man stood straight and strong and carried himself with an air of dignity that forced you to take him seriously and treat him with respect. Toshiaki was her father's elder cousin and both his children had been killed in action during the last war. As Inoichi was the closest family member to the clan head and Toshiaki would never have another child Rei had become the new heir to the Yamanaka clan when she was born.

_Why can't they just hold an election or something? _

"Clansmen," began Toshiaki without preamble, "the spotters have informed me the Hokage will be arriving in less than five minutes. Please take your positions and be prepared to greet him."

Not exactly sure what was going on Rei let Emiko take her by the hand and lead her. Clansmen arranged themselves in two lines on either side of the foyer, each of them shuffling around in such a way that made it obvious their positions had been decided beforehand. In less than a minute they had all efficiently positioned themselves and Rei found herself standing next to her mother nearly at the head of one of the lines. All chatter stopped and the air took a sudden serious military mien.

Toshiaki stood by the door flanked on one side by her father and on the other one of the clan elders. Rei could see what was going to happen. When the Hokage came close enough Toshiaki and the two flanking him would go and greet the Hokage outside. Afterwards they would escort him in and the Hokage would see the finely dressed Yamanaka clansmen lined up on either side of the hall to greet him. Rei had never experienced this kind of pomp and ceremony in her past life and she felt it was all a bit too stuffy. The girl was very much not a fan of formality. She supposed she should count herself lucky she hadn't been born into the Hyuuga clan.

"When the Hokage enters all of the clan members will bow low in unison. Make sure to follow along," her mother whispered to her.

"I will," she assured her mother for once reigning in her desire to say something smart.

It was just a bit eerie how every person in the room stood quietly at attention while they waited those last few minutes for the Hokage to arrive. It was like they were all in uniform waiting for inspection instead of dressed for a fancy dinner in their finest attire. The last few minutes ticked by slowly as Rei struggled not to fidget.

After what seemed like an eternity but must have been less than five minutes the clan head with her father and the elder at his shoulders stepped out of the hall. It seemed the Hokage had arrived. The room held its collective breath while they waited for polite greetings to be exchanged and for the guest of honor to be showed inside.

Of course the Hokage was the first person to reenter the room since traditionally the highest ranking person entered first. Rei barely got a glimpse of his robes before she was bowing along with everyone else bending at the waist low and keeping her eyes on the floor as was "proper". The Hokage strolled across the room with such casual ease Rei knew it must have been for show. Two plain faced men in Jounin uniforms flanked him as an honor guard and Rei was willing to bet they were part of the Hokage's personal ANBU when they weren't acting as ceremonial bodyguards. She bet ANBU accompanying the Hokage thought all the pomp was rather silly too.

In unison as if by some unseen signal all the Yamanaka straightened from their bows and stood at stiff attention. The Hokage didn't visibly react but instead just walked to the head of the two lines. Toshaki and his entourage were close behind and Rei watched curiously out of the corner of her eye as the Hokage conferred briefly with the Yamanaka clan head.

_What is going on? Wish someone had clued me in to the script beforehand._

What was going on became apparent as the Hokage started to speak to a Yamanaka clan member almost directly across from her with Toshaki following closely at his shoulder. They spoke in quiet tones for a few moments before the Hokage moved down the line and spoke briefly to another Yamanaka clan member. Rei realized that the Hokage was very deliberately choosing to speak to a handful of clan members in front of all the others and that it undoubtedly was intended to send some kind of message.

_I bet there'll be hours of speculation as to why the Hokage chose to speak to the people he did and what it all means. You also have to wonder if anyone will feel snubbed if the Hokage doesn't stop to speak to them personally. Ugh I don't have the patience for politics. _

When the Hokage finished going down the line and then crossed over to speak to the people in Rei's own line it finally occurred to her that the Hokage might stop to speak with her.

_I really, really hope he doesn't_ she thought with dread bubbling in her stomach.

Rei knew she was far, far too inexperienced to try to match wits or pull one over on the Hokage. She knew she was being paranoid but she couldn't help but feel afraid that the Hokage would be able to instantly see right through her. It wasn't rational but Rei had heard too many stories about the Hokage being a man who could do anything and despite herself she had been sucked in by some of the hype. Especially since she knew a great deal of it _wasn't_ hype at all.

_Deep breath. You're just a little girl known to be a bit of an odd snowflake duck. If there's anything odd to be seen it will probably just get chalked up to that. _

Minutes passed and the tension in Rei's five year old body increased as the Hokage drifted ever closer to her place near the head of the line. Rei forced herself to physically relax but didn't think it did a lot of good. At least if she looked like a nervous wreck it could be chalked up to nerves from being in the presence of the Hokage. Rei took a deep breath as unbidden words from her old world came to mind.

_There is no emotion, there is peace. _

_There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. _

_There is no passion, there is serenity. _

_There is no chaos, there is harmony. _

_There is no death, there is only chakra. _

Finally the Third Hokage came to a stop right in front of her.

It was almost a shock that the Hokage looked like a normal man and not a three meter tall glowing demigod. This was the first time in her life that Rei had gotten a close look at the man who had lead the Village Hidden in the Leaves for over forty years. He was somewhat shorter than the average man but not an inch less imposing for it. His face was lined with age and was covered with a few liver spots. His features were remarkably unremarkable. He had a pointed neatly trimmed grey goatee that somehow managed to make him look more approachable and dignified. He looked down at Rei with a friendly warm smile and it was easy to see how Naruto would latch on to him as a semi-paternal grandfatherly figure.

His eyes though gave lie to his outer appearance as simple old man. They were sharp and focused and while not exactly calculating there was a… weight to them, as if he was seeing what she would make of herself and how useful she would be. It wasn't completely heartless though. Rei thought that while she was being weighed for her utility that didn't mean he was heartless. His eyes said he also cared.

At least that's what he wanted her to see at any rate. She wouldn't kid herself; whatever she saw in Sarutobi Hiruzen would be _exactly_ what he wanted her to see. Someone like her didn't stand a chance of seeing past his walls.

"Rei-chan was it?" the Hokage spoke in a friendly baritone, "I don't think we've met before. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Her reply was an ingrained response that didn't require any thought. "It's a pleasure to meet you too Hokage-sama," she said sounding a little nervous and not having to fake it in the least bit.

"I've heard good things about you. They tell me you train hard every day," he said.

Rei had a momentary moment of panic. Open ended questions were a classic way to gather information. How should she respond? Was this some kind of test? Was he looking for something?

Looking up at his face she realized she had no idea. Frankly she was getting annoyed with herself and tired of being unsettled by his presence. She could try to stutter though some clichéd pre-made response. Or she could just be herself.

_Oh fuck it. _

She grinned at him with a hint of mischievousness. It was a look her parents knew usually meant trouble.

"How else would I become a strong ninja? That's my goal you know; to become a powerful ninja and be able to see the world," she said, laughing inside and hoping she didn't somehow get herself killed.

He seemed please by her response. "Oh? So you want to be a ninja?" he asked rhetorically.

"Yep! All the people I want to emulate are ninja after all," she said, putting her hands behind her back and turning up the cuteness factor to eleven.

_Tsunade, Orochimaru, Deidara, Sasori. All the people I want to emulate are most definitely ninja. _

The Hokage nodded indulgently like she had just pronounced some great wisdom.

"That's very good to hear. There are a lot of great role models for you in your clan. You know the way of the ninja is very hard. Do you think you're ready for it?"

"As long as I can chase after my dreams I'll put up with anything you can throw at me Hokage-sama," she said with all the haughtiness and seriousness her little five year old body could muster. The girl wondered how many people could tell she was grinning like a mad fool on the inside.

The Hokage chuckled at that. "Is that so? My, it looks like the Will of Fire burns brightly in the next generation. You begin the academy next year don't you?"

"Yes Hokage-sama," she replied with an exaggerated nod.

"See that you do well. I'll be expecting great things from you."

Rei's smile turned sly. "Don't worry Hokage-sama. I promise I'll be like no one you've ever seen before."

_That_ earned her a long look and suddenly the smile on his face didn't look quite so genuine.

"Take care of yourself Rei-chan," he said before turning and walking away.

The smile on Rei's face fell as soon as he was gone.

_Damn it damn it damn it. I definitely went too far. Shit!_

While she was lost in her own thoughts the group started to break up. Rei realized she had been the last person the Hokage had talked to and he had proceeded further into the hall to the large formal dining area. Her mother appeared in front of her and drew her attention.

"That went relatively well though I expected you to behave yourself with a little more decorum and a little less cheek," her mother said sternly.

Rei had the decency to look a little sheepish. "Yeah, sorry about that mom. I was just a little nervous."

"And you get a smart mouth when you're nervous, is that what you're trying to tell me?" her mother asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I get a smart mouth for everything. I thought you and dad had figured that out by now," she said, putting a hand on her hip and imitating her mother's raised eyebrow.

Emiko looked like she wanted to give her daughter a serious scolding but held herself back. "You head on back home. I have to stay for the dinner."

"I don't have to stay?" asked Rei in surprise.

Emiko shook her head. "You're too young and we'll be discussing important clan business. You'll get to join us once you become Genin."

_Joy. I can't wait. _Rei thought sardonically.

"We won't be home until late. There's dinner in the fridge. Your aunt should bring Ino back soon so make sure she goes to bed on time."

"Sure. I can handle it."

"Good," said Emiko before looking towards the dining room. "I've got to go. See you tomorrow."

Emiko gave Rei a quick peck on the forehead before hurrying off to join the rest of the clan.

Rei left the meeting hall and walked home with a sullen air. Her eyes were firmly planted on the ground in front of her the whole way. When she got home she decided she wasn't hungry and chose to forgo dinner. Instead she went up to her room, changed her clothes, and threw herself on her bed.

_What the hell was I thinking needling the Hokage like that? I wanted to fly under the radar and I might have ended up doing the exact opposite. With that last comment I probably ruined whatever good impression I had made on him. Ugh, being a smartass little shit is not a good defense mechanism in the ninja world. _

Rei lay there for what felt like a long time going over everything that had happened and the ways in which it might hurt her. In the end she decided strict professionalism whenever she met the Hokage in the future was the way to go. She only hoped she could actually stick to that.

Eventually Rei felt someone coming up the stairs and when the door opened she sat up. Ino stood there looking freshly showered after playing at their aunt Yua's house all day.

"Hey Ino," said Rei with a halfhearted smile.

Ino gave her a long look and a little frown marred her features. "What's wrong Nee-chan?" she asked.

Rei blinked. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Your face. You look sad or something. I don't know but I can tell something's wrong," Ino insisted.

Rei sighed and rubbed her face. She must have really looked a mess if a four year old could so easily tell something was wrong with her.

"Nothing Ino just," she paused, "a bad dream and I think I made mom mad earlier. I've had a bit of a rotten evening."

Ino looked at her thoughtfully before walking up to her sister and throwing her arms around her neck. Rei hesitated before wrapping her arms around the younger girl. Typical Ino. Always thinking she could make things better with a hug.

Sometimes she was right.

"We'll sleep together so you don't have any more bad dreams ok?" said Ino.

Rei smiled. "Sure. I'd like that."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

**000**

**_Six Years Old _**

A week before school started Rei's mom took her clothes shopping. The older woman seemed to think it was a big deal. When Rei asked why she got a longer explanation than she had expected.

When Rei had watched the show she'd thought everyone wearing the same outfit everyday had just been the artist's convention to help keep things simple. It turned out this wasn't the case at all and there were historical reasons why this practice was adopted.

During the warring states period when armies fought the commanders started wearing clothing that was easily recognizable. This was so the ninja on their side could easily find them in the field of battle to look for orders and to try to draw enemy aggression. The commanders were the strongest ninja and the pervading philosophy was that if they were targeted they would have the best chance to survive. It also made it very easy to get enemies to overcommit to attacking the commanders and lead them into an ambush. Eventually the commanders started wearing their distinct battle garb at all times both in order to be ready to fight at any time and for the prestige and status associated with their uniforms.

Over time all ninjas began to emulate their commanders and wore distinct clothing that easily identified them. This changed somewhat when the Hidden Village system was founded and there was an effort to introduce a standard uniform especially among the higher ranks. However there is still a strong holdover of the practice especially among the Genin and younger ninja. Clans in particular viewed wearing your own signature clothes as a point of pride. Like many traditions the original purpose of it no longer applied but the actual practice refused to die.

It also meant that at a young age perspective ninja had to choose an outfit they would wear for years to come. That explained some of the odd and painful fashion choices of Genin during the show.

So that was why she found herself in a children's military supply store with her mother looking for a signature "look" that she would probably carry into her Genin career.

"What about this?" asked her mother holding out a battle dress that looked suspiciously like the one Sakura wore on the show but in more muted colors. Rei had serious doubts about the practicality of the "battle dress" and wondered if its main purpose was to attract the whims of young girls.

Rei wrinkled her nose. "Pass. Way too girly. I don't think I could take myself seriously if I wore something like that."

Her mother frowned. "I think it's lovely but maybe you're right. Something more functional then?"

"Functional and practical. And pockets. Definitely want pockets."

Emiko smiled. "Well at least you have your priories straight."

The store was very large by Konoha standards where the average business tended to be relatively small. There was a dizzying selection of clothes, weapons and equipment made with smaller hands and bodies in mind. She was pretty sure she found versions of what some of the Rookie 9 had worn on the show on the shelves as she browsed.

At first Rei had been rather neutral about finding something to wear but now that she was there she wanted to find an outfit that meant something. Maybe something that had a deeper meaning even if only to her. Something that symbolized her rebellion against the situation she had been put in against her will and without her consent.

Unbidden a memory came to her… that of a young Orochimaru with his Genin team wearing an off white battle kimono. A nasty little smile came to her lips. She couldn't wear exactly what he wore, that would be too suspicious, but emulating the style of a younger Orochimaru was exactly the type of silent rebellion and personal meaning she was looking for.

It also helped that the rest of the Sannin had also worn battle kimonos too though in slightly different styles. She didn't know if dressing like the young Sannin would help but psychologically it definitely wouldn't hurt.

Quickly she flittered over to the section that held a moderate selection of battle kimonos. As she started going through them her mom came and stood over her shoulder.

"I think I found the general style of what I want to wear," she told her mom as she pulled out and replaced different selections.

"The kimonos?" asked her mother sounding surprised. "Those are somewhat old fashioned you know. None of the young kids wear them anymore."

"Don't care. I like them. Besides I think they look dignified."

Her mother made a humming sound. "I suppose they do have a nice classic look to them. But I thought you wanted something with pockets?"

"The insides of the robes have pockets."

"Hmm well it's a more mature choice than I would have expected but I don't know why I'm surprised. Here let me help you find something nice in your size."

In the end and after some back and forth Rei found an outfit she was happy with. It was a pale lilac kimono that matched her eyes with an aggressive black collar and sash. It was a little longer than knee length and had long billowing sleeves she found herself liking a great deal. Black shorts and undershirt completed the outfit along with black ninja sandals.

Other than the kimono being lilac instead of off white Rei looked exactly like a young Orochimaru.

Looking at herself in the store mirror Rei found herself both sad and excited. Despite the questionable circumstances she was going to learn what in her last world would only have existed in the realms of fiction. Controlling the elements, moving too fast for the eye to see, walking on water… she was going to learn all of that and she was going to do it wearing that outfit. On the other hand there was always the specter of what she would be expected to do with those skills after she graduated hanging over her head.

"I wouldn't have gone with black for the accents but other than that I think it's a good choice. It suits you," her mother said.

"Yeah," she said distractedly "I guess it does."

000

Rei was caught off guard when her dad declared he would walk her to the Academy on her very first day. She was surprised at how touched she was by the gesture. It wasn't often he could take the time to do something even as simple as that. Her dad was a very busy man with lots of responsibilities and she had learned to treasure the limited time she got to spend with him.

While he had just recently stepped down as the head of Konoha's T&I department he still consulted extensively with them in addition to his new responsibilities. As much as Rei disliked the Hidden Village system for its lack of basic human rights and authoritarian regimes she had to admit that there were occasional spots of light in this new society. Her father had been tasked with developing standards and protocols for a new initiative known as the "mental maintenance department" which was probably going to end up getting folded up into Konoha's hospital system.

Setting aside the implication that the mind – or the ninja in question – were weapons to be maintained it seemed like a small bit of progress in the right direction to the girl. It's never been a secret that ninja tend to develop deep and debilitating mental traumas over the course of their careers. Something that was never shown in the story she had read – or perhaps had never existed there – were the fairly disturbing statistics on suicide rates for veteran ninja. It also wasn't just those that were suicidal that could benefit from some professional help. If Konoha was hellbent on using prepubescent child soldiers then it was high time they had something official in place to help treat the resulting mental trauma. At least it was now officially recognized as a problem and something was being done about it.

While Rei was generally pessimistic about her situation and the system she found herself living in she was at least hopeful for the future for the sake of the people living there. As bad as things currently were things had slowly – _so slowly – _been getting better since the warring states period. With any luck in three or four hundred years something similar to _All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights _might have a chance to take root.

However it sure as hell wasn't going to happen in her lifetime. As Rei was increasingly convinced power was the only true freedom to be found in the ninja world and the only rights you had were those you could take for yourself.

She would become an S-Rank ninja and escape or die trying.

Live free or die trying… wasn't that a saying in her world? Certainly fit.

Baby steps first though. Today was her first day at the academy.

"So are you excited?" her father asked as they walked down Konoha's streets under the shade of the Harashima trees.

Rei knew that was shorthand for her father asking what she thought about the whole 'going to the Academy' situation. "Meh. I hope to learn a lot. As long as I get the training I need I can handle the sitch," she said with a shrug.

"But?" her father prompted knowing there was more to it.

"But what? You know what. I'm going to be stuck all day with a bunch of six year old kids," she said distastefully.

"But you're a six year old kid too aren't you?" her dad asked in his 'therapist voice'.

Rei gave her dad an incredulous look. "I'm smarter than half the people that work for you," she deadpanned.

"Now that's an exaggeration," he protested seeming a bit affronted.

"Oh? So Katsuro-san is some kind of brain trust down at T&I then?" she asked with a crooked little smile. She smelled blood in the water now.

"That's- well he's just occasionally absent minded," Inoichi protested.

"So do all your occasionally absent minded subordinates practice fire jutsu in a sealed interrogation room? What do they call him now, barbeque boy was it?"

Inoichi sighed. "I never should have let you meet some of the people I work with," he said "and you're dodging the question."

"Hey if you're admitting I'm smarter than half the people you work with then I don't see what else we have to talk about."

Inoichi gave his daughter a _look_. She sighed.

"Fine. What do you want me to say? That I find kids my age annoying and can't relate to them one bit? That no one my age can keep up with me? That I'm too mature? You already know all that. Not seeing what going over it again is going to accomplish."

Inoichi made a thoughtful noise. "It's a burden for you isn't it? Being so smart?"

Rei shrugged looking a little sullen. "I'm my own snowflake duck. It's not anyone's fault. Adults are good enough company and Ino keeps me from getting lonely."

Rei had no idea what brought on the impromptu therapy session on the way to school. Thankfully she didn't have to wait long to find out what was on his mind.

"Learning how to relate to your peers is important. You should make an effort."

Rei replied with a grunt that might have generously been taken as agreement.

"Thankfully there is someone in your class in a similar situation to yours. You should consider befriending him. It would be good for you."

That caught Rei's attention. She looked up at him curiously. "What do you mean similar situation? Too smart or too good looking?"

Inoichi's lips twitched up at that. "You're cute and adorable _not_ good looking. And yes too smart by half just like you. Too smart, too talented and too good for his age. He also has the same problems as you relating to his peers. Definitely a genius like you," he said leaning in slightly, "maybe even better."

Rei knew her dad was deliberately trying to push her buttons now… but damn him it still worked. He knew she would be interested now. She suspected she knew who he was talking about.

"We'll have to see I suppose," she said airily, "what's his name?"

"Hyuuga Neji."

Bingo. She'd guessed right.

She'd thought that in the story Team Gai had been just a year older than the Rookie 9 but she hadn't been a hundred percent certain of that detail. Rei had known for a while that she might end up in the same class as Neji, Tenten and Lee but since it had not been certain she hadn't given it much thought. Now her father had confirmed that she would be in their same class. Now that was interesting.

Especially Neji. Neji was _very_ interesting.

Geniuses were a rare thing and from her memories of the Chunin exam Neji had most definitely qualified. Supposedly he'd been the strongest Genin in Konoha at the time of the Chunin exams. He'd been the first one to make Jounin too even if his powers seemed to plateau a bit later in the series compared to Sasuke and Naruto… but that might have just been from his stubborn Hyuuga insistence of practicing only the Gentle Fist. Impossible to say. Either way if things were more or less as she remembered he could make an invaluable ally.

He wasn't without problems though. Like many in the Naruto world he'd had a tragic past and it had scarred him. He'd also come across as something of a prick too at least until Naruto "fixed" him. But… he couldn't be that bad as a six year old.

Other than that as much as she hated to admit it Rei was a little… lonely. As much as she loved Ino and as many interactions as she had with her parents and many other adults in the clan the truth was there was no one really like her. It was odd thinking that because how many adult minds in children's bodies were there in the world? Not many if she had to guess. Another genius child was probably the closest thing she'd ever have to a peer.

It was worth looking into at least. The thought lit a fire inside her.

Her father must have seen something in her because he chuckled and rubbed her head affectionately. "Just be friendly. Remember Hyuuga can be a little stuffy and slow to thaw but they are good loyal ninja just the same. Keep at it and I'm sure you'll win him over."

"Who says I'm going to try to befriend him?" she protested but neither of them were fooled by her denial. The small grin on her lips gave her away.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**000**

_So this is it. This is where I'm going to learn to be a good little soldier of Konoha. Where I learn to kill and die for something I don't even believe in. On the bright side I'll also be learning how to break the laws of physics. _

After a ceremony at the front of the school filled with speeches about hard work and the "Will of Fire" the new Academy students were left to find their assigned classrooms on their own. Thankfully the ceremony had been brief as the Hokage himself had made an appearance and Rei had suddenly found herself feeling nervous about her impulsive choice of wardrobe. After they had been dismissed from the ceremony Rei had taken her time, wandering the halls to familiarize herself with the Academy before making her way to her new classroom.

The classroom was surprisingly mundane and looked very similar to what she remembered. It was larger than depicted in the story though and Rei estimated it would hold about sixty students. A blackboard, desk and podium stood at the front of the class and the student's seats were lined up and tiered upwards in a stadium style. She noticed with some amusement that the chairs and desks were closer to adult sized than child sized. The kids that were already sitting down looked a little ridiculous in the too-big furniture. It made sense since each class used the same classroom for the whole six years of their education.

Looking around the room Rei searched for the only three people she knew would be in her class. Sitting all the way in the back row was a brown haired girl with her hair in two buns and a Chinese style shirt. If it wasn't for those two things Rei might have not recognized her. As much as she had like Tenten in the show she really didn't have any outstanding physical characteristics. Her face was that of a young kid, adorably chubby and cute in that way only young children could be. She wasn't talking to anyone when most other kids were gathered in small groups. Well wasn't that peculiar. Was it possible she had been an introvert as a young kid? Sakura had changed a great deal over her Academy years after all. Maybe something similar had happened with Tenten.

Next she saw the boy who could only be Rock Lee. He looked just like the young Lee that she had read about with a grey Chinese shirt and a long pony tail. His hair was charcoal black and his eyebrows _were_ a lot thicker than normal… but not as bad as in the show. Sure they were thick and bushy especially for a six year old but they didn't look _abnormal_ either. Chalk that up to another minor difference between worlds. He was talking to a group of boys and they seemed to be getting along. The kids were still at that age where awkwardness between strangers was something that was quickly overcome. Rei wondered how long it would be before his malformed coils were revealed and he began to be shunned and picked on by his classmates. It was hard not to feel sympathy for the kid.

Finally standing off by himself with seemingly a bubble of empty space around him was the student she was most interested in. Neji wore a chibi version of the outfit he'd worn as a Genin though he was missing the bandages on his arms and his forehead was covered with a white sash. His long dark hair was worn loose and the way he stood put Rei in mind of a child trying to imitate the aloof stance and seriousness of the adults in his clan but still managing to look like he was playacting. His head moved as he scanned the crowd with a faintly contemptuous turn of his lips – an impressive accomplishment of general disdain for a six year old. His gaze turned in her direction and briefly their gazes met. She gave him a bright smile with a shade of arrogance and held his eyes. He looked momentarily surprised by her boldness as he studied her momentarily before turning his gaze away and continuing to scan the crowd, dismissing her.

_Well if I were him I'd dismiss me too. He seems a prickly one. Better pick a seat and observe for now, see what I can learn about him. I've made enough of an impression that at least he'll remember what I look like. _

There were still about ten minutes before the class started and the seats were slowly filling up. Of the three people she knew of in the class there was only one that she considered sitting next too. Neji struck her as the type who needed his space and she didn't want to crowd him and Lee was just acting and speaking like a regular boy his age… not something she was eager to subject herself to. With confident steps she walked up the isle and took an empty seat next to Tenten.

Tenten looked at her curiously but didn't say anything. Rei gave her a friendly smile.

"Yamanaka Rei," she said introducing herself.

After hesitating the girl spoke quietly but clearly. "Hayashi Tenten."

Those were the only words they said to each other for the next two weeks.

_Hayashi, so that's her last name… I'm pretty sure they didn't say it in the story for whatever reason. Or maybe that's another difference between the story and this world. _

They were at the very back on the last row so Rei could see the whole classroom. Neji had chosen a seat on the very front row and she watched as he rebuffed attempts at small talk with glares and occasionally a few words. The boys on the receiving end seemed to pale and scurry off rather quickly.

_Scary eyes for a chibi _Rei thought in amusement.

A few minutes later a kunoichi walked into the room with purposeful elegant strides. If this was their teacher she wasn't at all what Rei had been expecting. First of all she was a woman and part of her had just assumed they would have a man as a teacher since the only ones ever seen teaching in the story had been male. Secondly it was how young she looked – Rei would have pegged her age at roughly sixteen. She wore the standard Chunin outfit except the colors were all wrong. Her pants and shirt were black and her Chunin vest was dark blue. How she'd gotten permission to alter the outfit so much Rei had no idea. Her hair was a strange color though that wasn't unheard of in Konoha – it was colored aqua and done up in a tight severe bun. Her eyes were green and she wore a pair of delicate looking eyeglasses. The new kunoichi's face was set in a tight no-nonsense expression that made Rei think of the headmistress of some strict boarding school. In her hand she was holding – of all things – what looked like a black riding crop. _What is she planning on doing with that thing?_

The answer became apparent as she strode behind the desk at the front of the classroom, turned deliberately to the front, and when the class hadn't quieted down to her satisfaction she smacked the riding crop on the desk. Suddenly all conversation ceased.

"Welcome prospective Genin," she began, "My name is Himura Nao and I will be your instructor for the duration of your education here at the Academy. I will tolerate no goofing off, no chatter during class, and absolutely no disruptive behavior. You are to arrive promptly on time every day and raise your hand in case you have any questions. Consequences for rulebreakers will be… severe. Do your best and I'm sure we'll all get along fabulously. Any questions?"

000

Nao-sensei was nothing like the Iruka-sensei from her memories. She was fastidious, cooly in command and had a sixth sense for when students weren't paying attention. Also it turned out corporal punishment was still a thing in Konoha schools. The class found this out the first time some kid started speaking to his neighbor too loudly for Nao-sensei's taste. Everyone was shocked when her riding crop extended in the blink of an eye and smacked the offender loudly on the arm all the way up on the fourth row.

"Inuzuka-kun, no chatter during class," she said sternly while the wide eyed boy rubbed his arm and nodded enthusiastically.

Rei might have laughed out loud if she wasn't afraid of getting smacked with that riding crop herself. Plus when Nao-sensei turned her glare your way… well her green eyes and furrowed brow had a special power for making students break out in sweat and behave themselves. Rei thought it must have been some kind of kekkei gankai.

_It's probably a good thing for the integrity of the school that Nao-sensei wasn't Naruto's teacher. Not sure who would come ahead in that battle of wills. I can't imagine anyone other than him having the guts to mouth off to Nao-sensei. _Thinking about that scenario was really entertaining if a bit frightening.

As a teacher Nao-sensei was precise, methodical and matter-of-fact. She was also very good at what she did. Despite her general dislike for authoritarian figures Rei found herself liking Nao-sensei a great deal. Her logical and methodical approach appealed to her as well as her unwillingness to put up with any kind of nonsense. It was an ideal environment to learn and while many students griped out of class when they thought she couldn't hear Rei was nothing but pleased.

_I wonder if she was in the story but just never got any screen time? If so that would have been criminal. Who wouldn't want to include a sixteen-year-old aqua haired McGonagall with a riding crop? _

However that was about the only bright spot that morning as she sat through class. Rei realized very quickly that the first year was going to have very little to do with the ninja arts and everything to do with giving the students a necessary basic education. Mathematics, language, history and geography were the topics that would be covered in the classroom the first year.

Rei had to swallow a loud groan when she realized what a colossal waste of time the current school year would be if she couldn't somehow skip ahead and go to another year. Her mathematics skills were intact from her past life and she could already speak and write at an adult level of proficiency. She was familiar with all the big events that had happened in the Elemental Nations since people had started keeping track and she could probably draw a map of the Elemental Nations from memory.

In other words except for possibly a few bits of history and some very specific geographic details Rei already knew everything they were going to be taught in class that year.

_Well… this can't be as bad as it seems. Konoha is not the type of place to coddle and hold people back when they're ready to move on. I'll have to talk to Nao-sensei after class and see about moving up to another year. Shame I'm going to miss out the opportunity to befriend Neji and I would have liked to keep Nao as my teacher… but this was always a possibility. I'm a 'genius' and those usually graduate years early after all. _

Rei spent her first class period looking alert all while playing with her chakra and getting pencils and pens to stick to her fingers. Privately she hoped this would be the first and last day she would have to sit through a class so below her level.

000

"As this is the first day we will have a physical assessment of all students followed by taijutsu instruction. In order we will test your speed, upper body strength, flexibility and endurance. This will give us an idea of your level," said Nao-sensei, casually pushing up her glasses with a finger. "Be sure to give it your full effort. As your instructors it is important that we have an accurate idea of your current level. Now all of you get behind the white line. On my signal you will run one lap around the track as fast as you are able."

Nao-sensei stood on the side of the track with two other Chunin Rei didn't recognize helping her herd the sixty plus children. There was whispering and muttering as students slowly made their way to the line. Rei herself stepped decisively to the very front not wanting to be stuck in the middle of the pack from the get go. There was excitement bubbling in her stomach. All her life thus far she had spent her time in the Yamanaka compound being tutored by her mother and various Chunin and Genin of the clan. They had been the only people she had been able to compare herself with. Seeing how she stacked up against others her age felt like she would finally be able to see how far ahead of the curve (or not) she truly was.

Looking to the side she caught a glimpse of Neji who had the same idea as she did to get to the front of the line. He must have sensed her looking because he turned his head to face her. Rei gave him a small conspiratory smile. His eyebrows drew together in confusion before he turned his gaze away. She was pretty sure he didn't know what to make of her. Well he would definitely be more interested after this run. Rei crouched low and began to saturate her muscles with chakra.

"Students, prepare to go on my mark. Three. Two. One. Mark!"

At the signal her body launched forward like a coiled spring, arms pumping as she struggled to get out every last once of speed that she could. Running was something that she enjoyed. In her new body running almost felt like flying, her feet barely feeling like they touched the ground before forcefully propelling her forward with every step. She would have laughed at the sheer joy of it if she didn't need to keep her breathing steady to make the best time.

Out of the corner of her eye she could make out Neji a step or two behind her and keeping up rather well. Rei was simultaneously pleased and annoyed at that. Annoyed that she wasn't better than everyone else by leaps and bounds and pleased that yes, Hyuuga Neji might indeed be someone who could keep up with her. As they approached the half-way point Rei put all her attention forward and focused on getting just a little bit more speed.

The two of them stayed at pace until they crossed the finish line with Rei being just two steps ahead of the young Hyuuga. Both of them were breathing hard but not exactly tired. One of the benefits of chakra was superhuman endurance and one run around the track wouldn't be enough to wear the two of them out.

Rei wasn't really surprised that they were the first ones to the finish line. When she looked back however she was surprised to see that the next fastest student was just crossing the midpoint of the track. He was a clan kid too. That was good. That was _very_ good. She couldn't keep a joyous grin from splitting her face.

Turning back to look at a still hard breathing Neji she saw him looking at her like with slightly widened eyes. His youthful face had momentarily lost its stoic Hyuuga demeanor and he was looking at her with open surprise. She was willing to bet no one his age had ever kept up with him let alone beat him at anything.

Rei took the opportunity to step up to him with a smile. He seemed a little wary but she just brightened her smile more and held out her hand to him in the seal of reconciliation.

"Yamanaka Rei," she said, "six years old. Child prodigy. The only one who will truly be your equal in this class. How do you do?"

Neji looked at her and her hand dubiously for a few moments before slowly reaching out and completing the seal.

"Hyuuga Neji," he said hesitantly, "also a prodigy. It's a pleasure to meet you." Rei could tell he didn't really mean it so much as he was falling back into ingrained politeness. She didn't mind. It was a step forward and that was all that mattered.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**000**

**AN: It's been brought to my attention that I may have rushed through some pertinent things earlier in Rei's childhood. This chapter will be a flashback chapter fleshing out some relevant things. Hopefully this won't break the flow of the story too much. Enjoy. **

**000**

**_Three Years Old_**

Rei had assumed from the very beginning that as a clan heir and member of a prominent ninja family she would not be given a choice in becoming a ninja. This idea was only reinforced when she was given rubber shuriken as an infant and her family members would on a regular basis croon about "what a wonderful little kunoichi" she was going to make. Still it occurred to Rei that she didn't know what the _actual_ official policy was. To that end she made her way to the unrestricted section of her clan library located just down the street from her home.

Children in Konoha and especially in the clan compounds were given free reign of the streets. Streets in Konoha were much safer than in her last world for children. Then again perverts or kidnappers in her last world did not have to worry about flocks of angry mystical warriors coming down on their heads should they try something untoward with Konoha's most valuable resource. Anyone who engaged in that kind of crime would meet a slow and grisly death in the bowels of Konoha's T&I department.

There were some advantages to a military autocracy. Not many but safer streets were certainly good for the droves of children who roamed the streets unsupervised with impunity.

Reaching her destination she entered the double doors of a wooden two story building. Through the doors was a reception desk and behind it rows of bookshelves like you would expect to find in any library. Behind the desk was a middle aged blonde haired woman who was missing most of the fingers on her right hand. Rei did her best not to stare and approached the desk with a friendly smile.

"Hello Kagama-san," said Rei to the woman who was in charge of maintaining the clan's library.

The older woman smiled warmly down at the girl. "Back again Rei-chan? Did you finish the last books you borrowed?" she asked.

"Almost. Still got a bit to go," replied the girl.

"My but you read fast for your age. I wish more children of the clan showed your interest in books."

Rei shrugged. "I like history," she said.

Kagama chuckled. "So I've noticed. Is there anything I can help you with today?"

"Well…" she began, wondering how best to word what she wanted, "I want to read about the laws, but I'm not sure where to start."

"Laws?" she asked sounding surprised, "You sure you're interested in that? It's quite boring and dry even if it is important."

"I'm sure," she said with a firm nod.

Kagama regarded her skeptically. "Well I suppose there's nothing wrong if you want to look at that. What kinds of laws? Anything in particular?"

"I was thinking I wanted to know the laws of who gets to be a ninja. You know what is required, who has to sign up, who gets discharged from active duty, that kind of stuff," she said trying to sound and look as innocent as possible.

"Hmmm, well your best bet is probably the Clan Charter. It has all the relevant laws and rules regarding ninja of the clan, among other things."

"That sounds perfect!" said Rei with a charmingly cute smile. The pint sized blonde had learned early on that being an adorable little girl had benefits. Kagama melted and didn't ask any further questions. Sometimes being a super cute kid was more of an advantage than being labeled a 'genius'.

Ten minutes later Rei was sitting at a table in the library with an absolutely massive tome in front of her. It was a copy of the Clan Charter and was one of the few things big enough to require leather binding which was much more expensive than paper books or scrolls. The Charter covered everything from the laws they were expected to follow, to land rights, how to settle disputes, zoning issues, etc. It was the agreement that the Yamanakas had negotiated with Senju Harashima when the clan joined Konoha.

Most importantly for Rei at the moment it went into very explicit detail into what the Yamanaka clan was expected to contribute in terms of manpower to the village.

_It is recognized that the Clan is comprised of civilian members and members who are ninja. All children of civilian members of the Clan shall be given the option of joining Konoha's military force. All children born of Konoha ninja within the Clan shall be required to join Konoha's military forces. _

Rei frowned at that. _While I don't think I would have chosen to become a powerless civilian in the _Elemental Countries_ of all places just knowing I don't have the choice to do so really pisses me off._ Given everything she had picked up over the years that passage was more or less what Rei had suspected. However seeing it written in black and white just made it seem all the more real.

_Maybe that shouldn't bother me,_ she thought to herself, _it's not like I would have consented to being a civilian under the thumb of Konoha in any case. Even if I was just a baker I'd still be subject to and in a way contributing to a system that views killing innocent people for money as just another routine business transaction. Unfortunately there was never a chance that I would be anything other than a ninja. _

For better or for worse her fate was sealed both by circumstance and by her own choice. She was going to be a ninja. Thankfully she had started viewing it as less of a bad thing. Becoming a ninja meant primarily one thing as far as Rei was concerned; gaining power. Power in and of itself was neutral. It was what you did with it that mattered. Rei was going to get enough power to get free and then put it towards doing something good and worthwhile in the world. Hopefully.

Doing something good was a secondary objective though. Nothing was more important to her than gaining complete control over her fate and her life.

_Getting free is step one,_ she thought to herself, _everything else can come afterwards. _

000

**_Four Years Old _**

"Well doctor," said Emiko, and Rei could tell she was a bit excited even if she was very good at hiding it, "what's the verdict?"

"Rei-chan is an… interesting case," said the white coated doctor, "while we have seen results like these in the past it has never been to this same degree."

"What results?" asked her mother a little sharply. Rei tried not to roll her eyes. The doctor beating around the bush wasn't doing himself any favors.

"Ermm right. Well her tests came back as such; her physical energy is within range of what would be considered normal for a prodigy her age. However her spiritual energy is another matter entirely. It is frankly speaking incredibly disproportionate to her physical energy. In fact looking at these numbers I'd say it falls firmly in the high-Chunin, low-Jounin range and is only expected to grow larger as she ages," said the doctor, his voice interested and clinically detached at the same time.

Emiko's eyes flickered towards Rei worriedly. The girl didn't react to the news from her seat. She'd known her spiritual energy was much higher than her physical. Years of intense focus on her chakra and meditation not to mention her adult psyche had seen to that. She felt it every night as her mind rode the energies of her body, physical energies, spiritual energies, and the mix of the two. Rei was sure she had a much better idea of the state of her own energies than the doctor did.

"Is that… dangerous? Or some kind of problem? An imbalance that big sounds…" Emiko trailed off. She was worried. Rei reached over and held her mother's hand.

"No, no," said the doctor waving her off, "it's nothing to worry about. Generally speaking for most things those higher levels will be inconsequential. Her chakra will probably be limited for the rest of her life to what her physical side can produce. While there will likely always be an overabundance of spiritual energy the same cannot be said for the physical. This surplus is a good thing especially if she learns to use techniques that use a higher proportion of spiritual energy rather than physical."

Rei… wasn't sure about all of that. She was starting to understand that physical and spiritual energies were not as cut and dry as the academy level text books made them seem. Still it was just a feeling, nothing concrete. For all intents and purposes the doctor was still absolutely correct.

Her mother nodded, seemingly satisfied and relieved by the explanation. "What else?" she asked.

The doctor looked back at his notes. "Well her control is top notch for her age and will probably only continue to get better. If the trend continues I don't think she'll have any trouble learning just about any type of technique in the future at least from a control standpoint. Overall her chakra reserves are projected to be about thirty percent larger than the average potential. This is boosted a bit because of her high amount of spiritual energy."

That was… good she supposed. And simultaneously disappointing. The chakra control she had expected but she had not been sure about her chakra potential. "Average chakra potential" was just that, what the average Konoha ninja was expected to have in terms of chakra. Ninja from civilian backgrounds tended to be either at the average or below it. Those from clans tended to be above average. Yamanaka was a clan with relatively low chakra reserves averaging about fifteen to twenty percent above average reserves. From that perspective Rei was lucky to be projected at thirty percent above average. In contrast however the Akimichi and Uchiha clans who were known for their strong chakra tended to be about fifty percent above average. She would have large reserves for a Yamanaka but be somewhat average compared to other clan children.

It kind of burned her. She didn't want to be second best at anything.

"You know…" began the doctor, "one of the primary techniques that utilize a larger proportion of spiritual energy are medical jutsu. As I'm sure you know becoming a med nin also requires a very high degree of chakra control which I'm sure Rei-chan here will be able to acquire in time. If you want my advice she should begin training to become a med nin from an early age. From what you tell me of her mental maturity she would be a prime candidate to being early training. I suspect she could become quite good."

Her mother made a thoughtful noise. "Well that is something to consider. It's good if it plays to her strengths," she turned to Rei, "what do you think honey? Do you think you would be interested in becoming a medical ninja?"

Up to that point Rei had been distracted, thinking about her own chakra potential and not really paying close attention to the conversation. When her mother turned to her and spoke Rei was a little irritated from having her train of thought interrupted and snapped without thinking.

"Absolutely not," she said.

The smiling faces of the two adults fell, her mother turning to one of surprise and the doctor looked mortally offended.

"There's nothing wrong with being a medical ninja. It is a highly respected and rewarding specialty," said the doctor trying to sound calm but it was easy to tell he was irritated by her response.

Rei's eyes narrowed at his tone of voice. "No offense doctor but I'm not going to fill the stereotype of the support/medic kunoichi who is only good for getting kidnapped and patching up her male teammates after they do all the fighting. I realize that sort of thing is almost expected but it's not for me. My specialty is going to be taking down the enemy not cleaning up the mess afterwards."

"Rei! Don't be rude," her mother said firmly. Rei set her lip stubbornly but didn't say anything else.

Even though she might _technically_ be suited for it Rei had no interest in going the route of medical ninjutsu. She was focused on becoming powerful and feared and training to become a medic would actually be a hindrance to that. Fairly or unfairly 'medic' was almost synonymous with 'weak ninja' in the shinobi world. There would already be an automatic assumption that she would be somewhat weaker simply because she was a girl, there was no need to add yet another 'weak' stereotype to the mix. It would also involve years of studying things such as anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, drug interactions, medical seals… months and years where she could be studying something dangerous and hopefully terrifying. No, medical ninjutsu was not the route for her.

"You know that is not necessarily the case at all. Haven't you heard of Tsunade of the Sannin? She is not only a world famous medical ninja and she is also feared all over the world for her incredible fighting prowess as well. So Rei-chan I think your fears are misplaced after all," said the doctor, for some reason trying to get her to see things his way. Or maybe he just felt the need to defend his chosen profession.

Rei smiled and she tried to keep it genuine and less condescending, "Yes I have heard of Tsunade of the Sannin. Every little girl at some point dreams of being the next Tsunade-sama. I'm pretty sure none of them have succeeded though especially with the rules Tsunade-sama herself put in place. Aren't the rules that medical ninja are to avoid engaging in combat themselves at all costs? It seems kind of hard to become a legendary combatant when you aren't allowed to enter combat in the first place."

The doctor didn't have any immediate answers to that.

"You want to become a legendary combatant?" asked Emiko with disbelief.

000

**_Five Years Old_**

The breath was forcefully expelled from Rei's lungs when a large foot connected with her stomach. She flew back and tumbled a few times before coming to her feet in a skid. The girl tried to breathe but her body wasn't cooperating only allowing her to take tiny pained breaths.

"You're doing it again," said the broad shouldered blonde man in front of her, "you're letting your center of gravity get too high. You need to keep it low even when you're kicking high. Come at me again."

She was still struggling for breath but Rei knew better than to delay. The girl came at him with a punch that he easily blocked. He didn't bother to attack and just defended as the five year old unleashed a fierce offensive. The man didn't seem at all bothered by the strikes hitting his arms and legs and Rei was quickly growing exhausted from her lack of proper breathing.

Rei knew she needed an opening. This time she set it up by increasing the intensity of her attacks until they became just a bit sloppy. She could tell by the slight frown that appeared on his features that he'd noticed and wasn't happy about it. Rei went on for another few seconds before she aimed another high kick with her center of balance deliberately too high, the same kick that had earned her a foot to the stomach just moments before.

Like she suspected he went to punish her in the exact same way with a powerful side kick. This time Rei was expecting it though.

Her arm came down to block the leg to the side. However knowing that actually moving the limb would be impossible she instead let the arm move her body out of the way of the kick. She suddenly found herself inside his guard and with a grin stepped forward and put everything she could into a punch to his liver.

She was completely blindsided when while standing on one leg he somehow vaulted straight over her head, her fist only touching a bit of fabric as his body rose and arched above her. Rei had moment of frozen panic before a backfist caught her on the side of the head. She went tumbling and retained enough presence of mind to try to roll to her feet but ended up falling on her butt instead. Her head was ringing and the world refused to come back into focus.

"That's enough," said the man in a gruff voice which Rei could have sworn was almost a bit apologetic. Then again it could have been her imagination. "I wanted you to learn to fight through the discomfort of being winded, not try to get clever to avoid doing so. Still that feint was well done. It would have caught most opponents you are likely to face unprepared and it might have caught me if you hadn't tried to wind up that punch so much. The opening you created was smaller than you thought. Quick decisive strikes. Something to keep in mind."

Rei huffed and puffed and held her spinning head in her hands. "Yes Toshiro-sensei," she mumbled dutifully.

Yamanaka Toshiro had been her primary tutor for the past year though there had been many others who helped fill in the gap when Toshiro wasn't available - her own mother not least among them. Toshiro was one of the rising stars of the Yamanaka clan, a twenty year old veteran Chunin who was expected to take his Jounin exams at any time now. He was known as an especially vicious and efficient front line fighter which was something of a rarity among the Yamanaka who were best known for their support-type abilities.

When Rei had asked why she didn't have a Jounin as an instructor she been told in no uncertain terms that Jounin were too busy to be bothered with snot nosed brats and that someone else could easily teach her the fundamentals. While being the heir gave her some privileges apparently wasting the time of a valuable Jounin wasn't one of them. Still she couldn't really say she complained. Toshiro-sensei still gave her all the instruction she could handle and then some.

"When you can stand up again I want you to walk up that tree," he said gesturing to the huge Harashima tree in the back corner of her back yard, "and place traps among the branches. In ten minutes I'm going to come across the rope bridge," he said nodding his head towards the long rope and wood bridge that connected the tree to all the other Harashima trees in Konoha, "and try to catch you. Your objective is to stop me using traps only. Your ten minutes begin now."

Her head was still ringing but her vision had cleared and the world had stopped spinning so Rei thought that was probably as good as it was going to get. She dragged herself to her feet and ran to the tree. _This is going to suck with a rattled skull _she thought with a grimace.

Channeling the chakra to her feet she placed one on the huge trunk of the tree until she felt it catch with sufficient strength. Then she put her other foot and was treated to the uniquely alien sensation of walking up something vertical when gravity was trying to tug you back down. She took it slowly one step at a time as her control was not yet good enough to simply run up the side of the tree like more experienced ninja could. Twice she felt a momentary panic as her control slipped and her feet slid a little bit but she managed to recover each time before she fell. Her head was not appreciating the vertical inclination and her skull started pounding much worse than before. It took her nearly five minutes to reach the high branches and by that time she was in a bad mood.

_I swear I'll nail Toshiro this time _she promised herself.

Rei was no Naruto and her trapping skills were average at best. Still she was determined to make something happen and pushed herself to move quickly and set things up in a more creative fashion. Rei set some traps in the obvious places and some in some awkward off places where her sensei was unlikely to pass. She hoped to lead him into one of those traps in a moment he wouldn't expect.

In the end it was for naught. She thought she surprised him a time or two but Toshiro managed to deftly avoid the launched kunai and snare traps with infuriating ease. Rei tried to remind herself that everyone thought Toshiro was already Jounin level and his promotion a foregone conclusion but it did little good. The lilac eyed girl was competitive and she absolutely _hated_ to lose even if her opponent wasn't someone she had a prayer of defeating in the first place. It was a flaw she'd had plenty of opportunity to work on with limited success. Not once had she managed to beat Toshiro at _anything _after all.

"You've shown some minor improvements, maybe," he told her afterwards in a disinterested voice, "traps however are clearly not your forte."

It was all she could do to plaster a fake pleasant smile on her face. "Yes sensei."

"Hey you two! Come down for lunch," yelled her mother from the back porch. Rei and Toshiro easily heard her even high up in the branches of the huge tree.

"Of course Emiko-san. We will be down momentarily," called down Toshiro. He turned to Rei, "walk down the tree and then we'll break for an hour."

Rei held back a groan and steeled her resolve. Walking down was always harder to control than walking up and she was already feeling tired. Risking a fall from that height was what Toshiro called special motivation to get something right.

In the end she lost control about fifteen feet from the ground and managed to roll and come to her feet in a textbook perfect maneuver. While she was quite proud of that Toshiro looked decidedly unimpressed. Undaunted Rei held her chin high and strode ahead of him into the house.

Rei, her mother and Toshiro-sensei sat around the table and ate a filling traditional lunch. The adults made small talk for a while before Rei found an opening to bring up something she had been wondering about for weeks now.

"When are you going to teach me ninjutsu Toshiro-sensei?" she asked politely.

"Never," he replied bluntly drinking his tea.

"What?!" demanded Rei, "What do you mean never? Of course you have to teach me ninjutsu."

Toshiro continued to drink his tea slowly completely undaunted by her outburst. "That's ridiculous," he began after putting down his tea, "I've been asked to teach you taijutsu, weapons, traps, stealth, tracking and so on, all the basic skills ninja need to survive. However I was specifically told not to teach you ninjustu."

Rei looked flabbergasted at that. She looked back and forth between her sensei and her mother who was looking a little guilty. "Why?" she asked.

Her mother chose to answer that. "Traditionally our clan doesn't teach any ninjutsu until at least age eleven. It was decided it would be best if you waited until the academy."

Rei looked at her mother without comprehension. "But that's crazy. I know for a fact the Uchiha teach their fire techniques as soon as possible. Why can't I learn even the basic academy jutsu?"

Toshiro made a distasteful face at that. "Don't go by what the Uchiha do. It's irresponsible to teach a five year old how to char a man alive and it reinforces the flawed notion that fancy techniques make the ninja. It is the mind and the physical ability to carry out your strategies that make the ninja not the number of different ways you can spit fire or slice things with air."

Emiko was nodding at that. "Yes Rei listen to Toshiro-san. Whenever a Jounin gets a batch of new students almost without fail one or two of them will immediately start pestering them for new techniques. To the Jounin that is a clear sign that the Genin has a very poor understanding of what it takes to be a ninja. Without a solid framework all the fancy abilities in the world become nothing more than paper tigers."

"Paper tigers?" asked Rei not familiar with the term.

"Look terrifying but ultimately empty and not nearly as dangerous as they seem," added Toshiro.

Rei nodded. She mostly understood where they were coming from and even agreed with them. Learning jutsu early and using them as a crutch would be a mistake. But still…

"Not even the academy three?" she whined.

"Sorry but your father has forbidden it. You'll just have to wait until you learn them at the academy," said her mother patting her hand in a comforting gesture but with a small amused smile on her lips.

"If you want to make the best use of them then you should work on your chakra control," said Toshiro standing up, "since you're so eager you can spend the rest of the afternoon walking up and down the tree. I won't be satisfied until you can run up and down any vertical surface without effort. Now come on we've dallied long enough and we've got work to do."

000

Even as dedicated as she was Rei could only physically train so many hours in a day. Her body was still young and couldn't handle the stresses of training all day long. Rei spent the balance of her time buried in scrolls and books. Books on strategy, books on history, books about tactics, books about geography, scrolls about survival in the wilderness, tracking, stealth, anything that might be relevant Rei devoured when she was forced to let her body rest. It was still a productive use of her time and Rei forced herself to do it even when her eyes burned from exhaustion and all she wanted to do was lie down and rest.

The more she learned about the Elemental Nations the more convinced she was that her path of escaping the system was the only one that she would accept. The Hidden Villages lived in a mutually dependent relationship with the nobility in their home countries, with the Daimyo gifting a large percentage of their economy directly to the Hidden Villages in order to keep them loyal and to help maintain standing armies. The nobility themselves were a corrupt and cruel bunch who in many ways behaved almost like caricatures of an oppressive ruling class towards their subjects. And why wouldn't they? Any peasant uprising would be quickly quelled by the ninja and the nobility's own private guards would keep them safe from any retaliation.

Even with all this though Rei knew there were always cracks in the world, places that for whatever reason would be outside the reach of the ninja and the ruling class. Perhaps she would leave the continent of the Elemental Nations all together. She would find one such place and work to make a life for herself.

By night Rei's body 'slept' while her mind remained conscious and sunk into her chakra. From an early age she realized that all the energies in her body were not two or three separate things. In fact they all connected into a seamless whole that would pulsate and grow, affected by her thoughts, her moods and her environment. Realizations like these had small benefits such as marginally increasing her chakra control as she began to feel and relate to her chakra in new ways. It would be some years still however until some truly large benefits from her growing understanding of chakra began to emerge.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**000**

**AN: I've changed my writing style to a closer POV style I'm more familiar with. It will be this way from now on. Thanks to people for their constructive criticism and advice. I was attempting to write in a more panoramic and reflective style as a writing experiment but I don't think it was working too well. Hopefully people will enjoy the stylistic change in writing. I think this will be a more enjoyable read overall. **

**Since I'm changing my style I figure I might as well go all the way. Because why the hell not? I've switched the name orders (First name -**** Last name) because while I think the reverse is more 'authentic' this way is more 'personable'. **

**Eventually (but maybe not until this story is finished) I'll go back and edit the earlier chapters to be more like they will be from this point forward. **

**000**

**_Six Years Old, First Day of the Academy (continued) _**

**_Present Day_**

The rest of the physical assessment went more or less how Rei expected it to go. Rei inched out Neji in the categories of speed and flexibility. Neji was just a bit ahead in endurance and upper body strength. While she didn't like the idea of losing at anything she was mollified by the fact that both of them were leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else in the class. People took notice if the awed looks by the students and the calculating ones by the teachers were anything to go by. That was good. Reputation was almost as important as actual skill.

"All right, students!" said Nao-sensei loudly, "the physical assessments are now complete. Now we will have your taijutsu lesson. Each of us Chunin instructors will show five of you at a time. After we have shown you practice on you own until told to stop. In the meantime all of you wait on the field until your name is called."

With a lot of mutter and dragging of their heels eventually the students were more or less corralled on the field as they waited their turn. To Rei this way seemed more efficient for learning in the long run than having sixty children trying to imitate the instructor like some of the martial arts schools did in her last world. Still this system led to long periods of waiting around which she knew kids were not particularly good at.

To her pleasant surprise Neji seemed to gravitate towards her. Oh he didn't do something quite as bold as standing next to her. Still he came to stand close by but just far enough away that they couldn't actually be said to be standing 'together'. Rei didn't know if it was deliberate or subconscious but she was pretty thrilled that he already seemed to prefer her presence to that of the other students. She did really want to befriend him.

As Rei looked around herself she noticed something interesting. Both she and Neji had developed a spontaneous area of empty space around them. As Rei watched the students around them she got the impression most of them were too intimidated to get close to them or talk to them. It bothered her a little but it was also something of a good sign. She – and Neji – were already establishing a reputation on their very first day.

_This is kind of weird. I almost feel like a celebrity. _

Oh she didn't expect people keeping their distance to last. Rei was sure that before long they would get over whatever hangup was bothering them and get up the courage to get close to them and talk. Rei almost rolled her eyes at the thought. Well it probably wouldn't be too long before everyone got the idea that she wasn't like other kids.

Rei looked on with a neutral expression as the first three groups of five kids were called up. She noticed Lee was in one of those groups and wondered how the supposed 'talentless' boy would do on his first day of taijutsu instruction. Casually she took a half step closer to Neji. Close enough to speak, maybe, but not close enough to intrude on his personal space. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye but otherwise didn't react.

The children around them sat down or congregated in small groups while Rei and Neji stood and watched the taijutsu instruction begin with a sharp critical eye. The girl paid close attention to the stances Nao-sensei and the two other Chunin were putting the students. Rei held back a groan but couldn't contain a facepalm when she realized what they were doing.

_Of course they're going to be teaching this. Why the hell am I even surprised? The class is made up mostly of civilians who have never taken a day of taijutsu in their lives. This is how they __**have**__ to start._

Rei watched with mounting dread as the instructors put the students in the very first stance of Konoha Standard. Konoha Standard was, as the name implies, the standard style of taijutsu that was taught to every single ninja in the village. It was designed by Tobirama Senju who synthesized a wide number of different styles into one style that would work well for the widest number of ninjas and in the widest number of possible situations. It was a style that was famed for not having any particular weaknesses but at the same time not really having any outstanding strengths. There was nothing wrong with it but it wasn't particularly exciting either.

_Kind of like Hufflepuff_ Rei thought with private amusement.

Many, many ninja only used Konoha Standard their whole careers so it couldn't really be called a bad style by any stretch of the imagination. It balanced offence and defense in a way people of any body type could use effectively. In fact it was the style that Rei had begun learning when she was three years old. That was why she was currently feeling frustrated and so incredibly disappointed. It seemed that everything they were going to be teaching in taijutsu class for the foreseeable future she's already learned years ago.

"I can't believe this is what we're doing," she muttered out loud.

There were long moments of silence before she heard a quiet cultured voice speak. "So you've done all this too?"

Rei had to fight to contain the surge of excitement and the wide grin that threatened to spread across her face. _Neji is speaking to me of his own accord! _She made sure to keep her face neutral and her voice just a touch disinterested.

"Been doing it for years. What about you?" she asked.

"Same," he replied with a put upon sigh.

Those were the last words they spoke to each other that day but to Rei it felt like a huge victory. Sure Neji was a surly little chibi but he probably wasn't as jaded as he had been in the anime at thirteen, right? Even with his tragic past he might not be all that difficult for her to befriend.

It occurred to Rei that Neji must have been training both Konoha Standard and the Gentle Fist since the time he could walk. She couldn't help but wonder how the training he had undergone compared to her own. Rei felt a little competitive rush at the thought but pushed the feeling down and tried to stay interested in what was going on around her.

None of it was very exciting. To the blonde girl Lee didn't seem any better or worse than the other kids. After twenty minutes or so the first group was dismissed with instructions to practice what they had been shown when the second batch was called up, Rei included. She gave Nao-sensei a cocky grin which the stern woman looked singularly unimpressed by.

"Line up and assume this posture as best you can," she said demonstrating the first stance, still holding that riding crop like she knew how to use it, "then I will come around and correct your mistakes."

Rei did _not_ want to be stuck re-learning the basic stances of Konoha Standard. Knowing people were watching she moved a little ways from the group with a little grin on her face.

_I never used to be a showoff but I think a little showmanship is in order if I really want to solidify that reputation early on._

The honey-blonde slipped into the first stance along with the other four students in her little group. Then she began to move beginning the fifth form of the Konoha Standard style, the most acrobatic and physically demanding form of them all. She could feel people watching as she punched and kicked, bringing her body low and then jumping into a backflip. It was her favorite form and she ran through it faster than she ever had before. Toshiro had made her drill all the forms until he deemed they were absolutely _perfect_ and Rei flew through the form trusting that her muscle memory would keep everything crisp and to textbook perfection even as she pushed her speed to new heights. A smile tugged her at her lips as she flew through a mid-air split kick, followed by a roll, a side kick and a one legged twisting forward flip. She finished the form in a low stance with a little extra unnecessary flourish with her hands she knew as sure to look good.

After standing up she took only the quickest of glances at the crowd not wanting to be caught looking for a reaction (even if she totally was). Most of the students were looking at her a little wide eyed and a few had their jaws wide open. Rei had to hide her smirk and turn to keep the aloof image a genius was supposed to portray. Neji was looking at her with a cocked eyebrow and a neutral expression on his face. Well she hadn't really expected _him_ to be surprised.

Unexpectedly Rei yelped when she felt something smack her _hard_ on the back of her head. The girl spun quickly, angry eyes flashing, when she noticed it had been Nao-sensei and her extendable riding crop that had hit her from behind. The teacher was completely unruffled by her enraged expression.

"No disruptions. No showing off. Now get in line and assume the posture," the teenage instructor said stiffly.

000

After physical training outside they had returned to class for a lesson on history before the students were dismissed for the day. Rei stayed behind as she watched all the students shuffle out of the classroom with more enthusiasm than was really merited. When she and Nao-sensei were the last people left in the classroom Rei approached her desk.

Nao Himura was a bit of an enigma as far as Rei was concerned. Usually at her age ninja would be starting to reach the peak of their careers not going into teaching. Something about the aqua haired young woman made Rei think that she would be extremely competent in the field… maybe it was the confidence she seemed to carry about her like a shroud just like many veteran ninja she had met did. She turned her cool green eyes on Rei and adjusted her glasses as the girl approached.

"Is there something I can help you with Rei-san?" she asked politely.

There was also that. She spoke and acted like someone who was quite a bit older than sixteen years old. Rei supposed a Hyuuga might act the same way at that age but that was because they were trained and bred that way. As far as Rei was aware there was no Himura clan anywhere.

Setting those thoughts aside Rei refocused on why she had wanted to speak to the teacher. "Yes Nao-sensei. I was wondering if it would be possible for me to skip forward a number of years. I'm knowledgeable and talented enough to be in another class," Rei said bluntly. She thought it would be a shame to leave Neji behind but Rei had a few ideas as to how she might keep in touch with him. Besides who's to say he wouldn't be moved up either?

Nao sat back slowly and looked at her with vaguely feline eyes that seemed to be trying to dissect her. Rei felt maybe a _bit_ uncomfortable under the scrutiny but straightened her spine and refused to let it show. It seemed like an eternity before Neo broke the tense silence.

"Well I suppose I should quiz you and see if you do have the knowledge. Your little taijutsu… display earlier tells me you are ready to advance on that front at the very least," she said evenly.

Rei didn't bother to hide the self-satisfied smile that crept onto her face. If Nao was at all bothered by it Rei thought the teenager did an incredible job of hiding it. The blonde girl leaned casually against the teacher's desk as Nao began to ask her a barrage of questions on all topics. History. Traps. Taijutsu. Geography. Grammar. Basically things on every subject that would be covered in the first few years at the academy. They were there for over two hours and Rei was proud to say there were only two questions she had not been sure about. Sure she suspected she was being tested on a curriculum for children younger than ten but why shouldn't she feel good about it? Except for math she'd had to learn everything from scratch in her new life.

When they were finished Nao eyed her with the first tiny spark on interest in her eyes that Rei had seen on the woman. Her face was placid as ever but at least she was more than just another brat to the teacher for now.

"Impressive for your age. You are more than qualified to skip ahead a minimum of two years though that is a very conservative estimate. A more thorough assessment will have to be made to determine exactly where we should place you," Nao said.

Rei smiled happily at that. She wasn't going to be stuck learning nothing for years. Thank goodness! "Great! When do we get started?" she asked.

Nao shook her head. "The final decision if you go up in grades is not up to me. I'll have to consult with other parties to get approval for this. If they agree a dedicated afternoon of testing should be enough to determine your placement. Do you know the basic three?"

Rei's smile disappeared. "No," she said, feeling embarrassed at her deficiency. Not that it was her fault exactly.

Nao's brow scrunched into a small frown. "Curious. You've had difficulty mastering them?"

Rei ground her teeth at the insinuation. "I'm sure I'd have no difficulty mastering them Nao-sensei. My parents just thought it would be better to hold off and learn them at the academy." She didn't want anyone thinking she was anything less than capable.

"Odd. Well every clan chooses to conduct their business differently, it is not for me to pass judgment. That might hold you back a bit but not as much as you might imagine. Students work on the basic three for their final three years of training here." Even though Nao-sensei said that her tone clearly indicated that she had a very different idea than her family on what she should have been taught. Rei couldn't agree more especially right at that moment.

"It won't be a problem," Rei found herself saying confidently. Even though she had never tried ninjutsu before she felt sure that she could learn those three techniques quickly.

"Well then I'll try to get in touch with the relevant parties today. I'll let you know what comes of it if unless someone else informs you first," said Nao-sensei.

There wasn't much to say after that. Despite feeling annoyed at the basic three issue Rei headed home with a bounce in her step. The sooner she became a Genin the sooner she would begin to get the one valuable thing that all the training in the world couldn't give her – experience. There were also many other advantages in Rei's mind such as learning from an experienced Jounin. Even though the thought of being an actual ninja still made her nervous Rei was absolutely convinced graduating early was the best thing for her.

000

That evening Rei went to her aunt Yua's house for dinner since her parents were expected to be out until late that day. As Rei walked in the front door she had the breath knocked out of her when she was blindsided by a platinum blonde haired missile.

"Nee-chan!" squealed Ino at near dog whistle levels latching onto her sister.

Rei cringed. "Not so loud Ino please. Happy to see you too though," she said wrapping an arm around her sister. The other girl was only a couple of inches shorter than her so it was an easy fit.

"How was your first day?" asked Yua coming out of the kitchen with an affectionate smile at the scene.

"Yeah Nee-chan how was your first day at the academy? Make any new friends?" asked Ino as Rei started trying to pry her loose from her side.

"Yeah well… I dunno maybe," Rei replied thinking of Neji. She really hadn't even talked to anyone else. Or talked at all really. Huh. _Oh well_ she thought.

"How was your teacher?" asked Yua. Rei found herself smiling a little at that. Just as she knew she could occasionally take an irrational dislike for people the opposite was also true. Even if she couldn't think of many good reasons for it and even if the woman had (unfairly) smacked her on the head with that extendable riding crop of hers Rei still found herself liking Nao-sensei a great deal. It really was too bad she wouldn't have her as a teacher for very long.

"She's a strict one for sure but I don't think that's a bad thing," she said just as Ino finally relented in letting her go and skipped her way back to the kitchen.

Normally Rei would be looking for the first opportunity to duck out and do more training but just for that day she let herself join Ino and her aunt Yua in more domestic tasks. She helped prepare dinner for the three of them though she wasn't really a great cook. It made Rei happy in a way she couldn't explain when she saw her little sister walking around, doing her best to prepare food and babbling nonstop about anything and everything.

Later on as they sat down for dinner the topic of her first day at school came up again.

"Rei-chan, how do you think your school year is going to go with the subjects and everything involved?" her elderly aunt asked as they started to tuck in.

"Well I talked to Nao-sensei after class today," she said as she shoveled food into her mouth, "and it looks like I'm going to be skipped ahead at least a couple of years."

Ino looked at her sister wide eyed. "Really?" she said in an awed voice. Rei thought it was just adorable.

Rei sat up a little straighter and lifted her chin proudly. "Absolutely. You think your Nee-sama could do any less? You wound me little sister," she said in a mock haughty tone that caused Ino to giggle.

Yua looked a little worried. "Well congratulations if that happens. But don't push too fast ahead too fast now. Active duty is no good when you're still so young," said her aunt.

Rei rolled her eyes but was inwardly touched at the concern – however misplaced it might be. "Don't worry auntie. I can handle it. They don't call me a genius for nothing you know," she said with a coy smile.

"Yeah, there's nothing my Nee-chan can't do," said Ino turning to their aunt like she was scolding her for some grave slight.

Her little sister's faith in her made Rei feel warm inside. "I wouldn't go _that_ far but I am pretty awesome," she said, crossing her arms and nodding with a perfectly serious tone.

Yua just chuckled and shook her head resignedly. "Kids," she said with affection and exasperation.

000

That night after helping clean up Rei led Ino back to their house. After making sure both of them were clean and ready for the night Rei made her sister get into bed on her side of the room first. Feeling like a half-mother, half-older sister Rei tucked Ino into bed with a smile and kissed her on the forehead.

"G'night Nee-chan," said Ino sleepily.

"Good night Ino," replied Rei as she watched her sister curl up. She stayed watching for a few long moments before going to her side of the room and crawling into bed.

Next morning Rei got up with her alarm. Their mother didn't bother to get them out of bed in time, instead trusting that Rei would and delegating dragging Ino out of bed to the older sibling. Rei didn't mind and thought it was just another quirk of this new culture that older siblings were expected to act almost as third parents to the younger children.

After taking doing her morning rituals, getting ready to go to the academy and making sure Ino was in the bathroom getting ready for her day Rei made her way downstairs with a bounce in her step. Sure she thought the ninja system should die in a ditch but that didn't mean she couldn't have good days, especially when she hoped to hear back from Nao-sensei that day. Rei hummed to herself as she wondered which year she would get sorted into.

"Good morning honey," said Emiko from the table where she was just setting breakfast.

"Mornin' mom," she said sitting down with a flourish and aplomb.

"What's got you in such a good moon this morning?" asked her mother.

Rei grinned as she picked up her chopsticks, "Well, you see-". However she stopped when she saw her father stepping out of their parents' bedroom.

"Otou-san!" Rei exclaimed. She was surprised; her father was always gone by the time they woke up in the morning. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Good morning Rei," he said as he sat down, his outfit clearly indicating he was ready for work, "just needed to take care of a few things at home this morning so I'm going in a little later."

"Oh yeah?" she asked, happy to spend a bit of time with her father even if it was just over breakfast. She dug in and ate her food fast as was her habit, "no big deal I hope?"

Ino finally came down the stairs and was surprised to see her father there as well. She was much warmer than Rei herself was and the girl wondered what her parents made of it when Ino went to hug them both and Rei rarely did the same. She had never seen any indication that it bothered them but occasionally she couldn't help but wonder about it.

"Sit down Ino, your father and sister need to finish quickly," said Emiko as she herself sat down at the table.

It was extremely rare for all four of them to be sitting down for a meal together. Rei didn't mind but it was a bit curious just the same. Someone was always out late or at someone else's house and meals were rarely formal in their household. Rei cooked for herself and sometimes for Ino as often as not. Rei let herself relax and enjoy the unusual occasion.

There was small talk which Rei only listened to with half an ear as her mind wandered to where her training would go moving forward and the situation at the academy. That lasted until the meal was almost finished and Inoichi called her name.

"Rei-chan? I need to speak to you for a minute after we finish here," he said.

Rei slowed her eating and frowned a little. _That's not ominous at all. That line never sounds like something good. _

"Sure Otou-san," she said.

After eating Rei followed Inoichi into the living room. It wasn't exactly private as the kitchen and living room were an open concept and the two other members of their family were cleaning up in the kitchen. Her father sat down on a comfortable chair and Rei sat down on the couch across from him.

"What's up Otou-san?" asked Rei feeling impatient and _not_ at all nervous.

"Your teacher Himura-san came and spoke with me yesterday afternoon," said Inoichi, his voice and expression neutral.

Rei was confused for a second before realization hit her. A happy grin spread across her lips. "Ah, so you're one of the people she had to talk to about moving me up in years? I'm glad she found you. Did she tell you about all the questions I got right when she quizzed me? Or how far ahead she thought I was?" she chattered excitedly.

"Rei…"

"You're ok with it right? What year do you think I'll make it to?"

"Rei…"

"Do you think I'll still be able to talk to Nao-sensei?"

"Rei, you're not moving ahead in years," he said loudly enough to cut through her enthusiastic ramble.

Rei immediately stopped talking and her eyes widened. Why? No, no there had to be some sort of mistake.

"What do you mean? I'm over qualified. The first few years would be a waste of time. Of course I have to move up in years. Every other genius out there graduated early right?" she said, trying to sound calm and rational about it.

Inoichi shook his head. "It's not a good idea Rei. Early graduation is a bad idea outside of times of war. The mental strains of ninja work on a mind so young can be extremely damaging. You also need to learn to interact with you peers. In a way it's our fault since we never pushed you to interact with anyone else your age."

Rei couldn't believe it. He was worried about her mental health? That was ridiculous! She was more than mature enough. And who cared about drooling snot nosed six year olds? She could befriend them when they grew the hell up.

Anger started to burn in her chest, bleeding out into her eyes. Rei took deep breaths forcing herself to stay calm. Blowing up at her father would not help her cause.

"You know I'm at least eight years ahead developmentally, you've said it yourself. Forcing me to stay in an environment that stifles my growth won't help anyone long term. As to my peers, wouldn't you say my mental peers are more qualified to be my actual peers? Those closer to me in developmental age? Actual physical age is just a meaningless number anyway," she said, enunciating each word carefully as not to show her emotion.

Again her father shook his head. "In a lot of ways you are much older mentally but in other ways your mind is still that of a child. See the way you are right now? You're not getting your way and you're getting angry, ready to explode. You still need time to let other parts of your mentality mature. You're not ready." She guessed her father had not been fooled by her attempts at keeping her anger in check.

Rei would have expected that being called out on her anger would pour cold water on it but it did just the opposite. How could he say she wasn't ready? She had more knowledge and skill than childish children years older than her! It was extremely unfair. Her anger increased until her skin felt hot and her father regarded her with a slightly wary look in his eye.

"You're being unreasonable. I'll literally be sitting in a class learning _nothing,_" she hissed. Her mother and Ino looked over with concern but Rei barely noticed.

"That's not true," he said, "you'll be learning a lot of important things. Just none of them ninja arts."

Rei shot to her feet, no longer able to remain sitting down. Four eyes from the kitchen looked at her worriedly while her father regarded her with calm eyes completely unfazed by her reaction. She held her fists at her sides, squeezing them so tightly they shook slightly. Distantly she could feel her nails cutting into her palms.

"At least consider moving me forward one or two years. That would be a reasonable compromise," said Rei slowly, carefully, but unable to keep the cold anger from her voice.

"There is no reason for Genin to graduate younger than twelve in these times," said her father calmly, "long term it is what will be best for you. It is decided. We'll have no more arguments on this topic."

For a second Rei actually considered attacking her father before reason took control. It would achieve nothing and just prove his point that she wasn't emotionally mature. Which she _was_.

"I see," she spat with all the venom she could muster. Rei completely missed the frightened look Ino sent her way and the deeply worried one from her mother from where they stood watching in the kitchen. Her father simply looked at her calmly but firmly.

The ugly snake of anger and indignation in her chest grew so bad Rei felt like she was going to explode. Not trusting herself not to do something she would regret later she shot out the door, enhancing her legs with a furious flush of chakra and running away as fast as she could.

_Fine. If he wants to get in my way I'll just work around him. I'm not about to let that man stand in my way._

She would find a way to make this atrocity work in her favor. But that was later. Right now she had to find something she could hit and preferably destroy.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**000**

**_Two Weeks Later _**

Tenten sat in class diligently taking notes as Nao-sensei explained how to write down and work through the process of subtraction. Still the brown haired girl didn't strictly _need_ to do so as she already knew how to subtract. Her parents had shown her when she was younger as part of teaching her how to run their business. Sure they had always known she wanted to be a kunoichi but in case that didn't work out they wanted her to have an idea of how they ran things at the shop. She was glad she already knew the lesson because while she made sure to look diligent she could afford to let her mind wander for at least a little while. It was hard to stay focused on classes all day long when part of her just wanted to go outside and play.

However instead of focusing on class her mind automatically came to focus on her current object of frustration. Rei Yamanaka was sitting next to her like she did in every single class. The girl was looking at the back of her hands as a few pebbles moved in circles on top of her skin. There were three on each hand, spinning in circles and periodically coming closer together before moving further apart again. Tenten had no idea how the girl was doing that and the brown haired girl had not managed to get up the courage to ask.

Rei Yamanaka was intimidating. There was something just a little bit off about her and most of the students could feel it. That she was the best at (nearly) everything while looking absolutely bored with the world and never paying attention in class didn't help matters either.

Tenten bit her lip and shifted nervously as she tried to examine the girl next to her without being obvious about it. She was a strange one for sure and it wasn't all in her attitude. Her honey-blonde hair was like no other hair she had ever seen before. It strangely curled in on itself and at times strands of her hair would curl into a corkscrew-like shape. No one else had hair like that. She would have probably been picked on for it if she had been anyone else.

Then there were her unusually colored lilac eyes. They were wildly expressive and easily the one thing that drew your eyes when you looked at her once you got past her unusual hair. Whatever she was feeling, bored, excited or angry it always showed up first in her eyes. Tenten couldn't explain it but there was just something in her eyes when she looked out at the world that wasn't like other kids.

Rei Yamanaka was a mystery and one that Tenten Hayashi was feeling increasingly frustrated by. If she had been any other girl in the class Tenten thought she could just ignore the oddness of Rei Yamanaka and focus on what was being taught and in making new friends. But she couldn't.

That was because in every single class Rei Yamanaka always sat next to her. Every. Single. Time. If the girl wanted to be friends that was one thing but the blonde heiress hadn't spoken a single word to Tenten since the first day of class. Still for some unknown reason the girl always sought her out only to turn around and act like she didn't exist.

Tenten was really growing to resent it and it was driving her crazy. Especially when some of the other kids seemed to be avoiding her because she was 'hanging out' with Rei or when others would come and ask her questions about the blonde that Tenten had no idea how to answer.

She also didn't like how Rei kept getting special treatment from Nao-sensei. Whenever anyone wasn't paying attention or goofing off Nao-sensei would quickly smack them with that leather switch of hers and she wasn't shy about using it. Not with Rei Yamanaka though. When Rei spend the whole class moving rocks or coins along her hands (Tenten still had no idea how she was doing that!) or with her head buried in a scroll that had nothing to do with class Nao-sensei just ignored it. Tenten didn't understand it. How was that in any way fair? Was it just because she was the Yamanaka heir? All the students were supposed to be treated equally at the academy!

Still Tenten knew that unlike other people she wasn't someone who could stay angry for very long. When she wasn't feeling irritated at the situation she was mostly curious. Rei was a puzzle box and she wanted to find out what was on the inside.

If only the girl spoke to her. Or if Tenten could muster up her own courage to start a conversation.

000

The hours they spent outside for fitness and taijutsu training were better for Tenten. She didn't have the cloud of the Yamanaka heiress hanging over her so she got to spend time with some other kids. There were a couple of groups of girls who would speak to her and tolerate her presence but she wouldn't exactly call them _friends_ or anything. At least they always seemed to be a lot more friendly with each other than they were with her.

It didn't help that she was shy. Tenten knew that she was and wished she could be more outgoing but she couldn't help it. She wasn't very good at speaking up or making friends with people.

Instead she watched people a lot of the time while they were outside and, inevitably, her eyes would eventually wonder back to the heiress with the strange hair. There was just something _different_ about her, like a cat sitting among a group of puppies and she always drew attention without even trying. Annoyance and curiosity tugged at her as she observed the other girl and tried to understand what she was all about.

She dressed in an old style battle kimono the color of her eyes with black highlights that Tenten thought would be more at home in a period drama about ninjas. People just didn't _wear_ stuff like that anymore though she had to grudgingly admit Rei managed to pull it off. Knee length and with long voluminous sleeves she managed to look every inch the dignified ninja princess. At least she wasn't tacky enough to rub her status in people's faces. But how could she? The girl never talked to _anyone_.

Well that wasn't strictly true. The only one she spoke to was the _other _super smart, talented, aloof weirdo in the class. If Rei was an indifferent cat sitting among puppies then Neji was an angry badger, sneering and bearing his teeth at anyone who dared to come too close. Anyone except Rei that is. Rei Yamanaka was the only person Neji Hyuuga would tolerate anywhere near him.

They never stood _too _close and as far as Tenten could tell they didn't exchange more than a handful of words every day. However it was clear to everyone that they did stand _together_ which was both weird and not seeing how much they were alike.

Tenten scrunched her face as she studied the two. How did those two get so good at everything anyway? It wasn't like they were the only clan kids in their class. Far from it in fact. She had heard the words "prodigy" and "genius" thrown about but what did that really mean? Is that how they knew all the stuff everyone else was just learning?

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a two girls walking towards Rei seemingly intent on talking to her. The two girls were from minor clans and they at least _looked_ confident as they made their way towards the Yamanaka girl though Tenten wasn't so sure. In a way the girl with buns in her hair was already feeling sorry for them. She had seen more than one of her classmates try to get close to the… if not popular then eye catching blonde.

_I don't think this is going to end well_ thought Tenten as she watched the girls approach with all the attention of someone who knew they were about to see a horrible accident happen.

Tenten couldn't hear the words, she was too far away for that. She could however see everyone's faces. One of the girls started speaking to Rei who didn't seem to hear her for a few long seconds before slowly turning her head to look at the girl who spoke. The same girl said something else and the other one spoke up right afterwards, gesturing emphatically, probably about the three of them hanging out together.

Tenten couldn't hear her but she clearly saw Rei mouth the word "no" and turn her head away from the girls and back towards other people practicing taijutsu. Instead of taking the hint like most would it seemed to make the two girls angry instead. Tenten watched in fascination as the first girl started speaking again, clearly unhappy and her friend folded her arms like she was annoyed. After a few more seconds of their chatter Rei turned her head to look at the girls again.

Maybe she had been watching too closely but there were a few things Tenten had noticed about Rei Yamanaka. One, she had a scary, scary glare. Two, whenever something got her mad her lilac eyes seemed to darken a few shades until they looked like twin hard chips of amethyst.

They never stood a chance.

The blonde turned her glare and hard eyes on the two girls and Tenten could see them visibly stiffen and immediately stop talking. The Yamanaka looked at them for a few seconds before speaking a few words too low for Tenten to hear. One girl seemed to pale and other's eyes seemed to widen. The blonde said something else that might have been "leave" and the girls did so, turning and walking off a little faster than was strictly necessary.

Tenten watched the scene and let out a frustrated sigh. Rei Yamanaka scared off everyone, was antisocial to everyone, and seemed to only care for the company of the one person that was ruder to others than she was. She drew attention without even trying but most of the time just seemed horribly bored with the world. She was a genuine ninja princess and could be the most popular girl in class if she put even an ounce of effort into it.

So why, **_why _**did that girl insist on sitting next to her in class every day?

000

The next day Tenten arrived to class a little earlier than usual. The girl had decided that today she wasn't going to sit next to Rei so she wouldn't be constantly associated with the girl. Tenten wasn't great at making friends already and this situation just made it harder. With one last longing look at her favorite seat in the back row Tenten looked around for a good alternative.

There. More or less in the middle of all the rows were two girls sitting one seat away from each other. With a breath for courage Tenten made her way towards that row and squeezed past one redheaded girl – Tenten thought her name was Muika – who gave her a faint smile before going back to working on her homework that was due at the start of class. Tenten sat down with a happy sigh even if the girl on the other side of her just gave her a glance and went back to sleeping on the desk.

The two other times she had tried to sit away from the Yamanaka the girl had always taken an empty seat next to her. Now there were no empty seats next to her so the girl would have to go somewhere else. Simple. Easy. With a nod Tenten congratulated herself on having a good idea.

Tenten decided to crack open a textbook and review for class. She had been at it for less than five minutes before the curly haired blonde walked into the classroom. Tenten hid behind her book but kept her eyes on the girl wondering what she was going to do. She watched as Rei looked around the classroom and finally spotted her. Tenten ducked behind her book to avoid meeting her gaze, feeling silly about it the whole time.

The brown haired watched with suspicion as Rei eyed the row Tenten was sitting in and started moving towards the steps purposefully. Her suspicion turned to dread as she turned into the row Tenten was sitting in. The brown haired girl was openly staring when Rei stopped right in front of Muika.

Muika noticed too. Turning and looking up her eyes widened in surprise when she realized just who was standing next to her desk looking down at her.

"Thanks for saving me my seat. As promised I'll give you the answers to all of next week's homework. I'm here now though so I'd like to have it back," said Rei with a perfectly straight face.

Tenten and Muika stared at Rei with equal looks of surprise and disbelief. It was ridiculous. Rei Yamanaka never spoke to anyone, much less asked them to save her a seat in exchange for homework!

"I didn't save you-" began Muika only to be cut off.

"Yes you did. I'd like you to give it back now please."

"But-"

"Emphasis on the _now_ part. I don't want to have to tell you again," said Rei pleasantly with the ghost of a smile, but Tenten saw that her eyes were starting to do that darkening thing again.

Muika – the traitor – decided that it wasn't worth facing down Rei Yamanaka over a seat. She quickly gathered up her books and squeezed past Rei like touching the blonde would set her on fire. Tenten watched the redheaded girl leave like a woman at sea might watch a life preserver drifting away out of reach.

They Rei sat down, pulled out a scroll, and began reading like she hadn't just chased a girl away just to sit next to Tenten. The brown haired girl stared at Rei with disbelief. She couldn't believe it. Why would she go through all that trouble and not even look at her or say a single word to her?!

Tenten was at her limit. She knew she wasn't one to get overly angry or upset but the few times she did it was explosive. Tenten slammed her hands down on her desk, hard, making half the people in the look at her. Rei _finally_ deigned to look at her with a faint look of curiosity on her face.

"_WHY _do you always sit next to me and never say anything?!" said Tenten loudly huffing with anger, "you don't even talk to me and it's _weird_. It's not like you want to be my friend or anything and you scare everyone else away. It doesn't make any sense and you just make it harder for me to make friends. I don't like you or your weirdness! I wish you would just – just go sit somewhere else and never bother me again!"

Rei looked at her with wide surprised eyes and a look of hurt crossed her features before the blonde schooled her face into something more neutral. At seeing that hurt look Tenten instantly felt guilty. She didn't mean to make the girl feel bad, heck she hadn't even thought the girl _could_ feel hurt by anything. Tenten didn't even _really_ want to chase her away but she was fed up and wanted, no _needed_ some explanation.

Rei looked at her, scrutinizing, and Tenten couldn't help but wiggle in her seat a little under her gaze. Still there was something different in how the blonde was looking at her, like the girl was actually _looking_ at her now instead of passing over her with a look of disinterest. Tenten felt increasingly uncomfortable as the girl seemed to be deliberating something. The brown hair girl was also aware more than a few students were watching their interaction.

In the end Rei finally spoke, the first words she had directed at her since she had introduced herself two weeks before.

"I guess it must have seemed a little odd to you, huh?" she said thoughtfully and Tenten thought she could spot a touch of sheepishness in her.

Tenten didn't say anything but just nodded. She was too tense to speak and the fact that _Rei Yamanaka _was actually speaking to her left her feeling tongue tied.

"Well…" said Rei, before crossing her arms and furrowing her brow like she was coming to some deep decision. Tenten held her breath and waited feeling one hundred percent sure the other girl was going to somehow do something horrible to her for blowing up at her like she did. The next words that came out of her mouth couldn't have left Tenten feeling more surprised.

"How about we have lunch together?"

000

Tenten sat nervously on a long picnic table outside where the students always had their lunch. It was a nice table to have lunch in since it was under a tree that had a decent shade in the warm afternoons. Rei sat across from her munching quickly from her bento box as Tenten followed suit and ate her own lunch at a slower pace. They were the only ones sitting at the table. Tenten was pretty sure the only reason for that had strange hair and was sitting right across from her.

Rei finished eating first and then sat watching Tenten while she ate. It made Tenten uncomfortable and so far while they had been sitting together they hadn't spoken a word to each other. The brown haired girl wondered what she had been thinking agreeing to have lunch with Rei. Come to think of it she had never seen the other girl have lunch before. During that time the girl tended to just disappear and go off to do who-knows-what.

Not enjoying the scrutiny Tenten spoke up. "You can talk while I eat you know. Or, you know we can talk I mean. You don't need to wait until I'm finished."

Rei made a humming noise at that and thankfully took the hint and spoke up. "You're from a civilian family right Tenten-chan?" asked Rei actually sounding interested for once if somewhat subdued. Tenten's cheeks flushed both from the nickname and from her more humble upbringing when compared to Rei.

"That's right," she said "but I've always wanted to be a kunoichi for as long as I can remember. It's kind of my dream you know?"

Rei made a thoughtful noise at that as she looked at her placidly. "Are there any other ninja in your family?"

Tenten shook her head. "No, I would be the first ninja ever in my whole family. They're proud of me," she said and couldn't contain her smile, "a little worried you know? But proud of me. They say it will be good for us and that it's an honor to serve the Lord Hokage." Tenten couldn't hold back her happy grin. She wasn't sure how being a ninja would be good for the family but fighting for honor and glory like all the ninja from the stories just seemed so incredibly amazing and she would get to fight for the Lord Hokage and for Konoha just like all the other heroes of the village. It all seemed so much larger than life and amazing and Tenten wouldn't want to do anything else.

Something unhappy flickered across Rei's face so fast Tenten thought it might have been her imagination. Then her face went back to neutral with a pleasant – if bland – little smile.

"So is your dream _just_ to be a kunoichi?" asked Rei knowingly.

Tenten flushed for a second time. It was a little embarrassing but under Rei's intense light purple eyes she couldn't bring herself to lie. She mumbled the answer under her breath.

"What was that?" asked Rei leaning in a little.

"I said I want to be like Tsunade-sama!" Tenten blurted out. She felt her cheeks glowing red. Why did that seem to keep happening when she was talking to this girl?

Rei chuckled at that but it wasn't in a mean way. She seemed amused. "Well you and I have something in common at least," she said with a small _genuine_ looking smile. She looked so much less intimidating when she smiled for real. Until that point Tenten had never realized all her other little smiles had been… not fake exactly but not completely honest either.

The brown haired girl somehow felt happy knowing that there was something in common between them. "You want to be like Tsunade-sama too?" asked Tenten a little excitedly.

"Well not _exactly_ like Tsunade. But respected and feared all over the world? Yeah I could definitely go for that," said Rei, smile still on her face but her eyes suddenly got this far away look to them.

Tenten frowned a little at that. That wasn't why _she_ wanted to be like Tsunade-sama. Tsunade-sama was super strong kunoichi who could stand up to anyone. She was famous for helping people and was considered a hero by everyone in Konoha. The goals of being "respected and feared" were too abstract for Tenten to understand.

The girl was snapped out of her musing when Rei spoke up again. "So what does your family do?" asked the blonde casually while scratching at something on the table.

Tenten perked up a little at that. Her family might not be a clan of strong and famous ninja but she _was _proud of what they did. "My family are weapon makers," she said with enthusiasm.

Rei's whole demeanor changed. Her body which had previously been turned a little to the side moved to completely face the other girl. She leaned forward with her elbows on the table and she cradled her chin in her hands. Her eyes glittered with interest and just a hint of excitement.

"Really?" she asked in a voice that was noticeably perkier than before.

Tenten nodded feeling happy that the other girl looked like she was really interested in what her family did. "Yup! My family has been in Konoha almost since it was founded. We were making weapons for generations even before that. Our shop is known for making the best weapons in the whole village," she said excitedly. "Sure other places are cheaper but if you want quality or a weapon more exotic than simple shuriken or kunai then Hayashi's is the place to go."

To Tenten's gratification the other girl looked suitably impressed. "That's really awesome. I don't know if I'll actually ever use anything other than kunai or shuriken but I think the idea of using a weapon is really neat. The only problem with weapons is that they don't leave your hands free to use jutsu but there have to be ways to work around that."

Tenten just nodded. She'd heard her parents and some of their ninja customers discussing that same thing but the girl only had a sketchy idea of what they were talking about so she didn't say anything more for fear of sounding silly.

"Hey Tenten?" said Rei suddenly.

"Yeah?" asked the girl a little apprehensively.

"How do you feel about getting out of here and doing some weapons practice?"

000

"I don't have any weapons," Tenten muttered after Rei had led her to a deserted academy training ground with plenty of scattered target posts.

Rei looked surprised. "You don't?" she asked.

Tenten shook her head.

Rei looked at her for a long moment before she shrugged. "You can have half of mine then. It just means we'll have to go pick them off the targets more often."

"Errr.. right," said Tenten nervously.

Rei reached into the pack discreetly tried at her hip and smoothly pulled out a half dozen kunai. She practically shoved them in Tenten's hands and the girl had to scramble not to drop them. By the time Tenten had a good hold on them the other girl had already turned away and was making her way towards another nearby target.

Tenten examined the weapons in her hands. They weren't from her store so they were somewhat lower quality. Then again kunai were considered mostly disposable so she had to admit it wasn't _that _big a deal. Then she noticed something surprising. They were…

"Rei!" Tenten called out a little hysterically, "these aren't training kunai. These are real!"

Rei turned to face her and looked at her like she had just stated that the sky was blue. "So?"

"So? So? It's dangerous to practice with these!" she said nervously.

For some reason Rei looked truly perplexed by what she said. "With your family and all, aren't you supposed to be good with weapons?"

Tenten felt a spark of irritation at that. "We **make** weapons, not use them! Sure we know the theory behind how they're used but not enough to actually use them ourselves. And I-I haven't learned all of that yet."

Rei blinked, and then her eyes widened. "Are you… are you saying you don't know how to throw kunai?"

"Of course!" she said in irritation, "How am I supposed to know? They don't teach us weapons until next year," she said and would have stomped her foot if she hadn't been worried about the weapons she was holding in her hands.

Tenten didn't understand why saying she didn't know how to use kunai left Rei looking like someone had slapped her with a wet fish. Then she shook her head like she was trying to shake bad thoughts out of her skull and muttered something to herself that Tenten didn't catch. When she looked up there was a look of determination in Rei's eyes of someone who had made a decision.

Rei gave her a cocky grin, something the other girl had never seen from her before.

"I'll teach you if you want."

000

A few days later Tenten was sitting by herself outside. They always did the teaching of physical activities in small groups so that left a lot of downtime for a lot of the kids. Some spent some of the time practicing taijutsu or something else but most took it as free social time. Rei was standing next to Neji some distance away just like she always did when they were outside occasionally exchanging a few words with him. Over the last few days Tenten had been forced to change how she thought about the blonde Yamanaka heiress.

She could occasionally be… somewhat nice in a way. The girl had followed through on what she'd said she'd do and the next day had given Miuka a week's worth of homework for "saving" her seat for her. The redhead had almost fainted when Rei sought her out to give her the papers. She had also been eating lunch with Tenten and actually being kind of fun to be around. Rei had loosened up some seeming to swing wildly between complete boredom and an unexpected streak of mischievousness and teasing humor. She liked to embarrass Tenten but never went so far as to make it mean or mean spirited. The Yamanaka girl was also teaching Tenten how to throw shuriken and kunai after they finished their lunches early. All in all it was something she would not have expected to happen in a million years just a handful of days before.

Yet Rei was still very much the same Rei in other ways. She still sat next to Tenten in class but completely ignored her, instead either devoting herself to what she had learned were called 'chakra control exercises' or reading scrolls on things Tenten didn't even understand. _A Treatise on the Theory of Reducing the Number of Handseals Needed for the Execution of Jutsu_? What in the world did that even mean? She also ignored Tenten in favor of Neji when they were out on the practice field.

She also still acted like a rich lady's cat towards anyone who _wasn't_ Tenten or Neji. While the situation with Rei was undoubtedly better Tenten still thought she was going to have a hard time making friends. She could still make friends and talk to Rei right? She shouldn't have to pick one over the other.

Sighing Tenten looked down and picked at the grass between her legs. Who would have thought going to school would be so hard in these other weird ways? It wasn't something she had been prepared to deal with at all.

Tenten was interrupted from her thoughts when a large shadow was cast over her. When she looked up she gulped when she saw just who was looming over her. Masao Inuzuka was the biggest boy in class built more like an Akimichi than someone from the Inuzuka clan. His hair was short and brown and he had the clan markings on his cheeks done in orange. On either side of him were two smaller boys she didn't know they names of yet. They looked like civilians. That would make sense.

"So I've seen that you've been getting cozy with that stuck up princess with the stupid weird hair. Bet you think that means you're all that now don't you?" he sneered at her with a grating obnoxious superiority.

Masao was one of the few people in class, mostly boys, who had quickly gathered a small clique around themselves and started bullying people around. Tenten didn't understand why they felt the need to act so mean to people. Masao was so big and was from a clan known for being so ferocious that no one wanted to mess with him, Tenten included.

_Why did he have to come after me? _thought the brown haired girl with anguish.

"Look, Masao…" began Tenten moving to stand up. Before she could however Masao shoved her back down on the ground, hard. Tenten looked up at him with shocked eyes suddenly feeling a little afraid.

"I didn't say you could stand up, brownnoser. You like sucking up to people huh? You think being friendly with _that girl_ somehow makes you better than other people? You're really dumb, you know that?" he sneered at her.

"But… I, it-it's not like that at all!" she protested feeling tears gathering in her eyes as the bigger boy loomed over her. His two friends moved to crowd in around her boxing her in. Tenten kept looking up at all of them with their superior smirks and felt afraid.

"It doesn't matter how much of a suck up you are, you're still going to be a nobody. In fact I bet she just feels sorry for you. After all you're so ugly even _I _feel kind of bad for you," he said and smiled like he was self-satisfied with his own cleverness. His followers laughed at that.

"That was a good one Masao," one of them said between giggles.

"Oh yeah?" said Masao looking pleased, "you haven't seen anything yet." He turned back to Tenten. "I think I can make her cry. Yeah I bet I can, an ugly girl like her is totally going to be a weakling too. Aw, look she already has tears in her eyes," he said cruelly.

She did have tears in her eyes. The girl didn't want anyone to see them so she rubbed her eyes furiously. Masao seemed undeterred and went right back on the attack again.

"Why do you wear your hair like that anyway? Trying to have weird freaky hair just like your precious new buddy? Well it makes you look like a freak. Not that it makes a lot of difference with how ugly you already a-"

"What do you think you're doing, trash?" came a girl's voice from behind Masao.

The boy froze and spun around angrily when he realized the voice had been speaking to him. Tenten saw him stiffen up when he realized just who was standing behind him. Rei stood there with an unreadable look on her face and her hands folded into her sleeves. The other two boys took an unconscious step back. There were a few seconds of absolute silence before the girl spoke again.

"I said what do you think you're doing mongrel? Trash like you should know better than to dick around with your betters," she said pleasantly. You'd think they were having a nice polite conversation if not for her words. Her eyes flickered briefly to Tenten taking in the state she was in and seeing the fresh tear tracks on her face. Rei then turned her attention back to Masao, her eyes narrowing and doing that thing where darkened and looked like hard chips of crystal.

Masao finally got over his surprise, and to Tenten it looked like his pride and anger momentarily overrode his fear of the girl. "Who do you think you're calling trash?" he growled, "and what is a m-"

"Mongrel?" she interrupted, "A filthy dog with no lineage who hasn't been housebroken. Which is precisely what you are which is why I called you that. Trash." The girl said all of that in perfectly polite tones and with an infuriatingly superior smile on her face that almost made _Tenten_ want to slap her.

"You- Why- I'm gonna -!" Masao sputtered, his face turning red with anger, his fists clenched and shaking.

Rei's smile turned sharp. "What's wrong cur? The truth hurts doesn't it? It's not your fault, a filthy mongrel will always be a filthy mongrel. A good dog's place is to serve their betters, not to try and bite them. Why don't you come at me and I'll properly train you to sit at you master's side, naughty little dog."

Tenten was pretty sure Masao didn't know what a cur was but the message seemed to get across well enough. As she watched Rei's relaxed posture and that infuriating smirk on her face Tenten almost gasped as she realized something; Rei was baiting Masao on purpose. She _wanted_ him to attack her! By Masao's sputtering wordless anger it seemed that he was close to it too. His buddies backed up a couple of more steps. The girl was sure the only thing stopping Masao at this point was some lingering fear of what Rei could do. That was when the blonde decided to push him over the edge.

The girl nodded to herself as if she had just realized something self-evident in an exaggerated mocking way. "I see. So you are terrified of me. As you should be, since you have as much a chance of laying a hand on me as you would on Kami himself. It's good when filthy little doggies like you know who their betters are. But that doesn't change the fact that you're a coward and your entire clan would shit on you for taking it like a bitch," then she paused and tapped her chin as if in thought, "or maybe it's that your whole clan is like you? Tell me Inuzuka are all you filthy mongrels cowards or is it just you?"

Masao was vibrating with so much anger Tenten thought it was a wonder he hadn't spontaneously exploded. She was shocked that he hadn't attacked Rei yet or walked away. Inuzuka were famous for their quick tempers and for never backing down from a fight. How scared was Masao of Rei if he still hadn't attacked after everything she'd said to him?

"Come on Inuzuka I'm waiting for my answer. Trash."

That was the final straw that broke the oxen's back.

With a snarl and a roar the Inuzuka charged the smaller girl with his fist cocked back for a punch. Tenten didn't quite see what happened next. There was a blur of movement and suddenly Masao stopped, choking and clutching his throat. Rei kicked him viciously between the legs, causing Masao to bend over almost completely in half from the pain, choking and moaning at the same time. In a flowing movement Rei crouched low, sweeping Masao's legs out from under him and making him crash hard on his face and stomach.

In a blink Rei had her knee digging into his lower back and one of his arms in a painful looking joint lock. The look on the girl's face made Tenten shudder. She was enjoying this and the look she gave Masao made Tenten think of the look a fox would give a chicken it had cornered in the henhouse.

_I hope I _never_ get on her bad side. _

The pain and sudden brutality of his takedown seemed to have taken all the fight out of Masao not to mention the painful position he suddenly found himself in. His face was turned so Tenten could see it and it mostly registered pain and shock. Rei bent her head low and whispered something in his ear Tenten couldn't hear. The boy's eyes widened in fear at whatever the girl had told him. She stopped speaking for a few moments before saying something else to him which had the boy nodding furiously. Rei said a few more words to him and then finally got off him but not before digging her knee painfully into his back one more time as she got up.

Masao's 'friends' didn't dare approach and one look from Rei was enough to send them running. Masao scrambled to his feet and went after his friends, hobbling along and studiously avoiding looking at Rei. He need not have bothered since she was no longer paying any attention to him. Instead she walked over to Tenten and stopped right in front of her, holding out her hand to the brown haired girl.

"Are you ok?" she asked and for the first time that Tenten could remember the Yamanaka girl sounded genuinely concerned.

Tenten hesitated for a second before taking her hand. "Yeah, I'm ok I think. They didn't hit me or anything," she said as she allowed Rei to pull her up.

"They made you cry," said Rei with a frown.

Tenten wiped her face furiously. "No they didn't," she said roughly.

Rei smiled faintly at that. "No. Of course they didn't."

The blonde started walking and Tenten found herself following her without thinking about it.

They walked around the field in silence for a few minutes. Tenten could see and feel everyone staring at them. They must have seen the whole thing. At the moment Tenten didn't know how to feel about that… if she was honest she was just glad Rei had stepped in when she did. She had never been bullied before and it had been really scary.

Still there was something that was bothering her. "Did you have to be so… mean to Masao?" asked Tenten uncomfortably.

"What do you mean?" asked Rei.

"Just that… don't be mad or anything but… you know weren't you bullying him too? You didn't have to say all those things just to help me out did you? Not to say I'm not thankful, because I am! I mean… I don't know…" said Tenten trailing off. It sounded silly when she said it out loud. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything. She didn't want Rei to think she was mad at her or that she was ungrateful or anything.

Instead of getting mad Rei surprised Tenten by giving her a wide grin. "Ah, but what I did was totally okay. See what he was doing was being a bully. I was being a counterbully. Conterbullying the bullies is fine. Good even. It's almost like a public service."

That… made sense. Kind of. Didn't it?

"I can see how that makes a difference," she said honestly. It was very different to, er, 'conterbully' someone rather than just being a plain regular bully.

They walked in silence for a few more seconds before Rei suddenly turned to her, eyes bright and another smile on her face. Tenten was instantly wary when she looked at her. There was something in Rei's face that was mischievous and just seemed to spell all kinds of trouble.

"You know what we should do?" said Rei excitedly, "we should do some preemptive conterbullying."

Tenten frowned. She didn't know that word. "What does that mean?" she asked.

"Weeelll" she said drawing out the word, "a preemptive strike is when you go after someone who you know is about to come after you anyway. So preemptive counterbullying is where we would go after the bullies before they had the chance to strike. Conterbullying would be a public service. We should totally start a campaign of preemptive counterbullying. _Aggressive_ preemptive counterbullying even" she said with flourish, like she had just had the most wonderful of ideas.

Tenten wasn't so sure. "So that means we go after them before they actually do anything?" she asked dubiously.

Rei nodded. "You want to be a ninja right? Preemptive strikes and preemptive wars have been accepted doctrines for centuries. What could be wrong with that?" she said, irony filling her voice.

Tenten ignored the irony since she wasn't sure what it meant. Instead she focused on what was being said. "I don't know Rei," she said, "that sounds kind of like just plain regular bullying."

Rei seemed to deflate a little at that. "Maybe. But it would still be fun. We could plan ambushes. Herd bullies into kill zones. Practice our taijutsu. Plus keep in mind we'd only be going after _known bullies_. It's not like they wouldn't have it coming."

"Well, I'm not as good as you Rei so I don't think I'd be a lot of help with all of that," she said, silently vowing to get better, "plus I would feel like a bully doing that."

Rei examined her for along moment before sighing in defeat. "Yeah you're probably right," she said sounding down.

"Still," said Tenten thinking quickly, "we can still help if you see other people getting bullied, you know like you did today. I don't think I could help a lot right now but maybe I'll get better you know?"

It was then when Tenten realized she had somehow gotten roped into some kind of possible anti-bullying campaign. How and when did that happen?!

Rei smiled faintly at Tenten. "Well I guess that's better than nothing."

000

Were they friends? When she first asked herself that question Tenten found that it was harder to answer than it really should have been. Rei still ignored her during class when she focused on her "self-study" and out on the field when she spent time "making friends" with Neji. If Tenten _really_ wanted to get her attention she could but it had better be for a good reason if she didn't want to deal with a moody, grumpy Rei for the rest of the day.

They spent all their lunches and free periods outside together though. After that first bullying incident Rei never failed to stand up for her. Everyone knew that Tenten was now officially _off limits_ unless you wanted an angry Yamanaka cutting away all your self-esteem and self-worth with just a few words. If she goaded you into trying to take a swing at her it ended even worse. Rei always tried to teach her something new or help her out with school work, helping her to think about problems in different ways.

Tenten felt indebted and grateful to the other girl despite all the drawbacks of associating with her. She still hadn't made any friends other than Rei but she found she didn't mind so much anymore. Tenten wasn't much of a fighter but she knew if Rei was ever in trouble she would jump in and try to help her without the slightest hesitation. She felt she owed her that much and what's more… she would want to.

Did that mean they were friends? After thinking about it for a while Tenten concluded that the answer had to be yes. She guessed they were friends after all.

Tenten smiled. If she was going to have one friend she figured she could do worse than Rei Yamanaka.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**000**

**AN: This chapter came in at over 11k words long. It is by far the longest yet. I thought about breaking it up into two parts but decided that wouldn't work very well. Enjoy.**

**000**

"That's just painful to look at," said Neji, his face actually contorted in a pained grimace as they watched the flailing display in front of them which could only _very generously_ be described as taijutsu.

Rei's eyes were distant, hard and cold as they watched some of their classmates attempt to work through the first part of the first form of Konoha Standard. She didn't feel anything as she watched them with indifferent detachment. In the language of her old world it was almost like they were nothing more than nameless NPC's. Uninteresting. Background decoration. Completely inconsequential.

"The whole batch of them look talentless. Maybe they're destined to suck," said Rei. Neji just made a humming nose in agreement.

Weeks ago during the first day of class she never would have said that to Neji. She would have tried to steer him from his self-hating and destructive ideas about "fate" which had already taken root instead of feeding them with casual indifference. Part of her knew it was wrong. Right now most of her didn't care.

Since her father had prohibited her from advancing weeks before Rei had been nursing her anger and resentment like a particularly expensive and potent drink. She felt trapped like somehow the walls were closing in all around her even as she stood outside on a cool sunny day. For years she had not allowed herself to think of anything but her singular goal and now it felt like she had run into a wall she didn't know how to overcome.

It was affecting her badly she knew. As her resentment grew everything around her appeared to matter less and less. Rei knew that should worry her but couldn't immediately remember why.

"That kid with the ponytail. He really is the worst isn't he?" she said in a bored tone. She was of course talking about Rock Lee. While he could throw a punch or take a stance with the best of them when it came to linking different moves together it was like he had two left feet and a severe case of palsy. He did give it his all though there was no denying that.

"He should have just quit the first day," Neji said, disapproval coloring his voice "he's never going to make the cut even with the extremely low academy standards."

Part of her wanted to defend Lee but mostly she couldn't muster up the interest to do so. She felt like an angry, gnarled old lady raging at the world at the ripe age of six and just as tired. With no outlet for her frustrated emotions something was going to give soon. It kind of scared her thinking what she might be capable of.

"Hey Neji," she said "are you sure we can't spar? You'd be doing me a huge favor," she said in an even monotone.

"No," he said sounding frustrated, "I already told you. I've been forbidden from sparring or fighting at all outside the clan compound without permission. Don't bother me about it because there's nothing I can do to change it."

"Well, sorry," she said flippantly. The conversation died after that.

It's not like she hadn't been keeping busy. Rei had filled nearly every second of every day, inside and outside of school, with doing _something_ productive. She would push and push herself every day until she collapsed from utter exhaustion. Her body had actually started to force her to sleep like a regular person again the last few nights. _That_ had only further increased her anxiety as she feared losing one of the things that made her unique and would hopefully give her an edge in years to come.

She cast her eyes around the field looking for a specific figure. Her eyes soon found the girl she was looking for diligently practicing her taijutsu today even when it wasn't her turn with the teachers. Rei's eyes softened a bit as she eyed the brown haired girl. On a whim Rei had talked to her over a week ago and against her own better judgment invited the girl to lunch. The results had been unexpected. The girl had quickly wormed her way past a lot of her emotional walls before Rei had even realized it. In a way that scared her and in a way it had also helped keep her sane.

There were times recently when she felt something that felt like insanity clawing up from the darker depths of her mind. The pressure she felt was immense. Without advancing quickly she felt like she wasn't advancing at all and desperation had started coloring nearly every aspect of her life. She despised Konoha. She despised child soldiers. She despised a culture that made skill at dealing out violence the highest good. She despised the power the Hokage represented and how she could have everything taken away from her with just a word.

She also despised herself. Rei wasn't always the most introspective person but even she could see what was happening. As much as she bemoaned violence and killing as a way of life she was well on her way to becoming the perfect ninja Konoha's shinobi rules wanted her to be. Beating up other children had come to her with such ease it would have horrified the person she had been in her past life just six short years ago. The frustration and anger had even made some of it enjoyable.

Rei just couldn't see a lot of other options for herself. She was committed to her path of the ninja. All the while the ugly things inside her grew.

Tenten had helped her keep her balance and feel human during school. Rei had found simple pleasure in teaching her to throw weapons, a kind gesture untainted by thoughts of treason and her growing feeling of helplessness. Hearing her chatter excitedly about becoming a ninja was somewhat uncomfortable but there was something about her childlike exuberance that made everything seem simple, like maybe this world wasn't completely the medieval version of Warhammer 40k she imagined it to be. It was a nice fantasy and a grateful relief from the pressures of her own mind. She owed Tenten more than the girl could currently understand.

Her eyes lost focus and something in her cold chest warmed slightly as she thought about the only _other_ ray of sunshine in her life; Ino. She would have probably self-destructed by now if it wasn't for her sister. Somehow Ino had figured out something had been bothering her recently. Whereas before they had only slept together on occasion now Rei was crawling into her sister's bed every night or vice-versa. Rei was spotting a trend of who was helping her keep it together and it seemed like something straight out of a Walt Disney movie. It didn't make it any less true though. Ino let Rei hold her at night and the older blonde didn't think she could love anything more in the world than she did that little girl. She loved her for just being herself, for her silent support even if she didn't know what was wrong and for loving her big sister with the unrestrained purity only young children ever managed to pull off.

Those two helped but… it was only help, not a solution. She could only use the young girls as an emotional crutch for so long. Already Rei felt like she was very near her breaking point.

Almost lazily she glanced over at Neji studying his perpetually tight features. Their relationship was strange and she couldn't with all honesty call them "friends" at this point. In some ways they were very alike. Neji was trapped by the conditions of his birth and it was clear to Rei that he felt the whole of the universe was arrayed against him. Rei could relate to that very well though sadly there was no way to share that with him without some awkward explanations.

From Rei's point of view it seemed that Neji's response to his situation was to harden himself against everything and everyone. Unfortunately that meant Rei as well who so far he had only allowed inside inch by agonizing inch. As Rei saw it he meant to hold himself as a bastion of strength and anger that stood all alone against the ravages of a cruel world. In a twisted way she found that kind of defiance admirable.

Maybe Neji was simply stronger than her. After all he didn't _look_ like she felt, cold and hot and quietly desperate on the inside. Then again she was sure she didn't look that way either to most people. Boredom was what showed on her features and it was easy to pull off since she actually _was_ bored. However that was only a small portion of what had been happening inside her day in and day out.

She felt like she was losing herself. She didn't know what she should do about it. She wasn't even sure anymore that she should care.

000

"Rei stay behind for a few minutes," Nao-sensei called out to her right after the final bell rang.

Tenten gave the blonde girl a concerned look which Rei casually waved off. "I'll be fine. I doubt I'm in trouble or anything," she said trying to give the other girl a reassuring smile.

By the look on Tenten's face she must not have been very successful. "Do you… you know, want me to wait for you?" she asked biting her lip.

Rei's smile turned a tad more genuine. "I'll be fine. Go home I'm sure this won't take long," she said feeling a little odd at her six year old classmate showing concern for her.

"Well if you're sure," said Tenten a little hesitantly casting a worried glance towards Nao-sensei. "See you," she said shyly picking up her books and heading out the door with the rest of the departing students.

Rei observed the students from her perch on the back row as they trickled out of the class. Eventually the classroom emptied leaving just her and Nao-sensei behind. Seeing the woman's expectant look Rei picked up her things and walked towards Nao-sensei feeling a spark of curiosity despite her generally apathetic mood.

"You wanted to see me sensei?" she asked stopping in front of the teacher's desk.

"Yes. Please bring that over and take a seat," she said gesturing at a small stool sitting in the corner of the classroom. Rei realized this was going to be something of a long talk. For some reason that lifted her spirits just a little bit. The girl quickly retrieved the stool and sat herself across from Nao-sensei in front of the desk.

"So what can I do for you sensei?" she asked leaning forward on the desk and cradling her cheek with one hand.

Rei watched as Nao-sensei reached behind her desk and produced three scrolls. The girl watched in confusion as the teenager set them down in front of her.

"What's this?" asked Rei feeling puzzled.

"The basic 3 taught here at the academy. These are for you," she said in that perfectly serious and professional voice that was all Nao-sensei.

Rei perked up, the surge of excitement momentarily cutting through the dark despair she had been feeling for the past few weeks.

"You're giving these to me?" she said eyeing the scrolls hungrily but her wary eyes flickered back to her teacher, "why?"

"I asked your father for permission to give these to you," she said sidestepping the question, "and he agreed."

Rei frowned at that, a bit irritated at the mention of her father. "Why would he do that?

"He told me he had always planned to wait until you entered the academy. As it turns out you're an academy student now."

Rei paused at that, her mind trying to run through the logic. It didn't add up for her. "I don't get it. He's been skittish as hell about letting me have any techniques or work on anything more than taijutsu and bukijutsu. Why now?"

Again Nao-sensei sidestepped her question and posed one of her own. "Do you know why your father has been so concerned about you learning jutsu?"she asked, her voice softening a touch from her typical serious and professional tone.

Rei paused, a pained look flickering across her face. "Not really," she admitted.

Nao-sensei leaned back on her chair and crossed her legs, her voice changing into her 'lecturing voice'. "The Yamanaka are probably the most hesitant clan when it comes to handing out techniques to their younger members. You need to understand that because of the nature of your clan's techniques students are required to prove their patience, maturity and restraint before the techniques are taught."

Rei bit her lip thoughtfully, brow furrowing. "I've never heard of that," said Rei.

Neo-sensei smiled thinly at her. "You think they would just outright tell you? No, the best tests are those the student isn't even aware she is participating in. Otherwise an element of unreliability is inevitably inserted into the equation when the student doesn't act or react as they normally would."

"What does that have to do with me getting these techniques now?" asked Rei, genuinely curious and now fully engaged in the conversation.

"As I said the potential for abuse for your clan's techniques is high and thus they are extremely leery of handing them out before the student is ready. Unfortunately that tendency to hold techniques back until the student shows a certain desired mentality has also bled into the teaching of all other techniques within the clan. It is in a way understandable how that tendency would spread in such a way as to encompass all techniques. I merely helped to remind your father there is a huge distinction between learning academy techniques and learning to manipulate the minds of others," she said, sitting ram rod straight and perfectly dignified in her teacher's chair.

Rei's mind was whirling with all this new information, previous conversations and interactions with her father suddenly being cast in a new light. Would _she_ have trusted herself with something like mind altering techniques after so quickly losing her temper? Of course she wouldn't have. She wondered if her father would have let her skip in years if she had shown more _patience, maturity and restraint_ when he told he she couldn't advance in years. Rei honestly didn't know. However now she was thinking her poorly concealed anger might have been what made him hold back the academy techniques in just the way Nao-sensei was suggesting.

The blonde looked at her teacher now seeing her in a new light. It felt like a hundred questions were bubbling in her head. Neo-sensei watcher her impassively, feline green eyes waiting patiently behind her glasses as she waited for Rei to finish processing. There were so many other things she wanted to ask but one kept jumping straight to the front of her mind. There was something she felt she just had to know above all else.

"Why are you helping me?" asked Rei, mortified when she heard her voice crack with emotion.

Nao-sensei's eyes softened a fraction. "Isn't it every teacher's job to help their students?"

"No," insisted Rei, shaking her head "it's more than that."

Nao-sensei stared at her for a long time and Rei could see her teacher was debating just what and how much she should say to her. In the end when she spoke Rei got the impression she was at least partly lost in remembrance. Her voice was steady but there was a certain distant quality to it.

"I know when someone is close to the edge, close to snapping and doing something many people would regret. You're smart enough to understand this I think. I'm not sure why you feel that things have gotten too much but I know the signs. Let's just say you're not the first prodigy to have these kinds of issues."

It was something of an unsatisfactory non-answer yet at the same time very revealing. Rei realized she had been hoping Nao-sensei would say she had some kind of personal affection for her and felt silly at being disappointed when that hadn't been what the mature teenager said. It was also disturbing on a whole nother level that Nao had so easily seen through her mask and deduced what had been going on with her. Rei now felt self-conscious and worried wondering how many people had been able to see just what was going on inside.

Instead of dwelling on that Rei chose to ask another question. "Is it really that bad? What someone can do with Yamanaka techniques I mean?" It felt profoundly strange to her to be asking a non-Yamanaka about the techniques of her clan.

"Yes it can be that bad," said Nao-sensei her demeanor once again firmly back to normal.

"How so?"

Nao-sensei hesitated a moment before answering. "Some years ago there was a young Yamanaka boy at the academy whose father was rather lax and taught him some of the clan techniques very young. He had a very bad crush on another student, a young merchant's daughter who was a year below him training to be a kunoichi. However the girl made it very clear she was not interested much to his frustration and humiliation. One day he managed to get her alone and knock her out. Using one of your family's techniques he altered her memories to make her remember that while she had been rejecting his advances it had been because she was too shy and had secretly been in love with him the whole time. They dated for a few months before the side effects started to become obvious. Needless to say the clan and the Hokage were not amused."

Rei's mouth opened in shock at that. Other than the Mind-Body Switch young Yamanaka were not given much information about their clan's techniques until they were old enough to begin learning them. Beyond knowing that they were 'mind techniques' and a few hints picked up here and there Rei had not known anything about what her family's techniques actually did. To be able to alter someone's memories to such an extent was… frightening.

"Does that work on any ninja?" she asked with an awed voice.

Nao-sensei raised a critical eyebrow at that and there was a slight upward tug at the corner of her lips. "Is _that_ the first question that comes to mind after hearing that story? And you wonder why your father is leery of you learning any techniques."

Rei flushed bright scarlet and she dipped her head hiding her face behind her hair. "I – uh, I didn't mean it like… you know like _that" _she protested quickly.

"It never crossed my mind," said Nao-sensei with amusement shining in her eyes.

Rei sputtered, eager to change the subject. "Why – ugh how, how do you know so much? About Yamanaka techniques I mean? And about my clan?"

Nao-sensei's face sobered up. "I had a very frank conversation with your father and I've worked with a few Yamanaka in my time," she said simply, her rigid tone making it clear the subject wasn't up for further discussion.

Silence stretched out for a few seconds as Rei thought furiously about what else she was going to ask. When nothing was immediately forthcoming Nao-sensei spoke up on her own.

"So you've been frustrated with not being skipped ahead in grades. Understandable. What have you been doing for the past three weeks?"

It was almost a painful relief to be able to talk about these things. The truth of it was she had no one else to talk about them with. Rei perked up, sounding like an excited six year old no matter the memories she had in her head. "Well I haven't been sitting around doing nothing you know. I figured out how to do waterwalking all on my own and have been practicing more and more complex chakra control exercises. My parents also at least gave me access to all the unclassified documents of the clan and that has been a real wealth of knowledge. I've also made sure not to slack off on my taijutsu and bukijutsu," she babbled.

"Um-hmm," said Nao-sensei sounding half-bored and half-indulgent though Rei didn't let that perturb her.

"Unfortunately my long time tutor Toshiro-sensei recently made Jounin so he doesn't have time to teach me anymore which really sucks because having a personal instructor who knows you in and out is _really_ helpful. I haven't talked to anyone about getting a new one since things have kind of weird at home because of the whole 'held-back' scenario but if they refused to teach me any jutsu I would just be frustrated. Honestly I've been getting so restless I even thought about learning a weapon just to give me something new to do but I don't really think that would have been a good solution. Weapons are too specialized you know and right now I don't have any idea if that would fit me. Honestly if they just let me move forward everything would be ok but progressing this slowly is driving me crazy I am _so not_ living up to my potential and everything I could do and everything I could _be_ and it pisses me off so much I just want to break something or kill it because it's so damn frustrating and I just don't know what to _**do about it**_," she finished, half-speaking and half-shouting, feeling out of breath as she had not stopped for a breather during that whole time.

Belatedly she realized she may have said too much but she couldn't really bring herself to care. Rei felt just a little better as she tried to get her breath back. She's needed that. She'd really really needed someone to talk to and listen.

Nao-sensei simply looked at her for a while, her look attentive but kept neutral. In a way it was a relief. While she didn't know her teacher very well at least she didn't feel like Nao-sensei was judging her or thinking ill of her for her outburst. Instead she was looking at her like she was trying to figure her out. She couldn't be sure but at least Nao-sensei didn't seem like the type of person who would run off and tell figures of authority how mentally unstable her student was at the first chance.

What she asked next was completely logical yet it still left Rei feeling surprised and off balance.

"May I ask what has you so driven?"

Rei chewed on her lip. She couldn't tell the whole truth obviously but talking to Nao-sensei was helping and she didn't want to stop. Not now. Instead she settled for telling her a partial truth.

"The strong control their destinies. Everyone else just has to fall in line and take orders without complaint."

Nao-sensei chuckled, she actually _chuckled _at that. It made her look much closer to sixteen years old even with her hair done up in a severe style and the knowing eyes of a much older person.

"And what orders are you rebelling against right now exactly Rei-chan?"

Rei flushed at that, her brow drawing into a displeased frown. "You know what I mean."

"I'm not sure I do. Why don't you explain it to me?

She did. "The world of ninja is all about strength. All three of the Sanin were able to leave the village because they were so strong, anyone else would have been killed instantly. The Fourth…" _was allowed to marry and impregnate a Jinchuriki despite the risks involved, _"…ended a war almost single handedly and got to achieve his dream of being Hokage. The First Hokage wrestled a village into existence out of the chaos of the Warring States period mostly on the merits of his strength alone. If they had been any less strong they never would have been able to do any of those things. Their power allowed them to literally rewrite the rules. Everyone else is practically just a soldier with their marching orders and no real say in anything."

Nao's feline eyes bored into her intensely. "Well you're not wrong. The strongest do indeed have more options open to them."

"So how can you mock what I was saying?" she asked crossly.

"I was not mocking you. I was trying to make a point," she said, her flat tone suddenly reminding Rei who was the teacher and who was the student and how Nao-sensei didn't suffer any nonsense. The girl's attitude died at hearing that, "the point is that you are so worried about the future you're completely neglecting life in the here and now. Normally that wouldn't be such a large concern except you are destroying yourself and you don't even realize it. You are grinding yourself into dust and the only one responsible for it is yourself."

Rei felt a chill at the words. That wasn't true. Was it?

"I'm not sure what you mean," she said a little defensively.

Nao-sensei continued but her tone softened a fraction. "We both know that you do. You are far too intelligent not to."

Rei shook her head in denial but couldn't form any words. She thought she knew where this was going and something inside her was panicking. She didn't want to hear it.

"You're not as subtle as you think you are and it's hard to hide something like that from someone who sees you for long hours every day. Do you even realize how you look at your classmates? Yes of course you do. Would you like me to tell you?" she said, her tone not unkind but not allowing the young girl any wiggle room either.

Rei shook her head, putting her arms on the teacher's desk and burying her head in them.

"I've seen how you've started looking at people. It's like they don't even exist. Like you weigh and measure their worth like sacks of rice and find most of them don't hold enough to be worth your trouble. Like they're not even human. I'm not going to tell you that this is good or bad but you are mature enough to be aware of a few things. How you treat your comrades will determine the type of person you will be in the future. You need to ask yourself if that is the type of person you want to be. You happen to be one of the few individuals intelligent enough at a crucial stage of your development to able to pick and choose the type of person you are likely to be for the rest of your life," she said, no judgment in her voice but a kind of pragmatic practicality that Rei clung to in the wake of all the emotions her little speech had stirred up inside her.

_You need to ask yourself if that is the type of person you want to be._ Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong. It took Nao-sensei calling her out to realize, to really _think_ about what she had been doing. Part of her had been fighting it because she was too stubborn to want to change. Now that some of these ugly truths were being brought out into the open Rei felt like an ugly wound was being brought out into the open.

"Now having that kind of attitude and outlook will not make you a bad ninja even in a place like Konoha which emphasizes comrades and teamwork," said Nao-sensei continuing on as she observed her student, "in fact even in Konoha some sectors and many individuals would consider that kind of mindset ideal and an asset to the village. The truth is some will think poorly of you for it and others will praise you for being able to separate sympathy and emotions from your missions. In the ninja world there is a place for both approaches. However if you continue to regard others as you have been there are some realities that I think you should be made aware of. Do you need a moment to compose yourself?" Nao-sensei asked.

Rei still had her head buried in her arms and she realized her body was heaving with soft sobs. Her whole world suddenly felt like it had been tilted on its head. _Have I really been that bad?_ Yes, yes she had been. This wasn't something that had just recently started either. It seemed that the floodgates had opened and now she was starting to reexamine her whole life in a different light. Some of what immediately come to mind had left her feeling sick.

She didn't want to be a bad person.

Rei felt something being placed next to her. Turning her head and opening a tear filled eye Rei saw that it was a box of tissues. She risked a glance at Nao-sensei who was looking at her patiently and without a drop of sympathy. Somehow this made Rei straighten her back and helped give her the composure to stop crying. While other people might want sympathy Rei didn't right then and Nao-sensei's attitude helped give her an anchor to latch on to and calm down. She sat straight on the stool and grabbed a few tissues to clean up her face as best she could.

Nao-sensei gave her a few moments before adjusting her glasses by pushing them up with a finger. Then she continued speaking as if she had not just been interrupted by a crying six year old. "Yes well as I was saying there are a few things you should be aware of with regards to your career. People with that sort of outlook are well known to be successful at certain types of work. If you choose to continue as you have been you will almost certainly be recruited into ANBU as soon as you make Chunin. You would spend most of your career doing… unpleasant, stomach churning work. Prestigious and well paid but unpleasant just the same. It takes a certain kind of person to survive or even thrive in that environment."

_You mean a sociopath _Rei thought to herself. Did Nao-sensei really think she had been heading in that direction? Had she really?

"Many people aspire to that career path. It would be my advice to anyone not to even consider joining ANBU until they make Jounin. We are not always given a choice, that is entirely up to the discretion of the Hokage of course, but oftentimes we are. Something to consider. For some reason I get the feeling you are not the type of person who would… enjoy their time in ANBU. Just some free advice. Do with it what you will."

000

Rei put her head back down on the desk, hear swirling in a haze. She wasn't even thinking actual thoughts she just needed time for the churning thoughts and insanity of her emotions to calm down enough for her to start dealing with her new revelations. What kind of person did she want to be? What kind of person was she becoming? It was too much to think about at the moment and she couldn't deal with it there and then.

Nao-sensei seemed to sense the girl didn't want to move so without missing a beat got out a stack of papers and started grading homework for the class. It might have seemed cold with an emotionally distressed girl sitting just a few feet away but Rei didn't see it that way. She was allowed to stay and Rei knew if she wanted to talk more Nao-sensei would listen or even offer advice. Rei had a fleeting thought that Nao was becoming her Iruka-sensei, a teacher she could talk to and trust to a certain extent. It was odd having a mentor who was technically younger than her but it was working and Rei wasn't about to question it too much.

Not that she felt completely great around her teacher right now. Rei was mortified at essentially having broken down in front of her teacher over what was at the end of the day just a conversation. Some supremely overpowered ninja she was gearing up to be. In the end though Nao-sensei had just for the most part pretended her tears didn't exist and (thankfully) allowed her to retain just a bit of pride. If her teacher had called attention to her fragile emotional state Rei might have just walked out the door.

She still wanted to talk to her teacher. Rei felt almost instinctively that their conversation hadn't run its course yet for that day. However she wasn't sure how to start or what it was she wanted to talk about. Instead when she was ready she decided to open with something she had noticed and was intensely curious about.

"Nao-sensei?" Rei ventured. A low sharp hum invited her to continue as her teacher continued to grade papers.

Rei licked her lips. "How do you know so much about ANBU? Were you… in it yourself maybe?" she asked tentatively.

"Next question," came her bland, almost bored reply as she didn't even bother to look up from what she was doing. Rei narrowed her eyes in thought. It wasn't exactly a confirmation but it wasn't a denial either. Her whole attitude and demeanor were so competent and professional Rei might have easily believed she's been in ANBU if not for her age. She wasn't sure but she bet most operatives didn't retire at sixteen and then went on to teach at the academy. It would be a colossal waste of resources. Still Rei wished Nao-sensei's arms was bare so she could look for the iconic ANBU tattoo just to be sure.

Rei's thoughts went back to her situation choosing to tackle it one bit at a time. In a way she felt much better after having talked but it still didn't solve her problem. She still had to get stronger because everything hinged on that. Rei refused to compromise on that point.

…_you are destroying yourself and you don't even realize it. You are grinding yourself into dust and the only one responsible for it is yourself._

Rei sighed as she felt a headache coming on. She wasn't nearly as prepared to deal with all these issues as she'd thought. After Nao-sensei had pointed it out to her she realized it was true; she was destroying herself. She probably had been doing it for a long time in every sense of the word.

What should she do about it though? How could she continue on to her goal right now without completely losing herself to resentment and anger and numb indifference?

"What should I do?" she muttered miserably in a low quiet voice. Rei wasn't sure if the question was rhetorical or if she was hoping Nao-sensei would give her an answer.

In the end the teacher did give her an answer. "Stop fighting and enjoy your time here at the academy."

Rei's eyes narrowed at the suggestion and a snarl came to her lips. She'd thought Nao-sensei understood! She opened her mouth to let Nao-sensei know what she thought of _that_ suggestion when the other woman held up her hand causing her to stop.

"Hear me out," said the aqua haired woman as she put aside what she was doing and focused her attention on Rei once again.

"Today to determine the strength of a ninja the administration rates eight categories on a scale from zero to five points. Do you know what I'm talking about?" asked her teacher.

Rei was a little thrown by the sudden change in topic but slowly nodded that she did. She'd seen them in her previous world.

"There is an older model that is not as heavy on the specific numbers but is a much better guide conceptually when trying to understand what influences the strength of a ninja. I doubt you've heard of it since it has been phased out of official use but many ninja still swear by it. It goes like this," she said. Nao-sensei proceeded to pull out a blank sheet of paper and write something on it. Then she turned the sheet towards Rei so the girl could see what she had written.

**Basic Physical Condition x Skill in Application x Ninja Techniques = Total Combat Power**

"Base physical condition," Nao-sensei began once again using her 'lecturing voice' "is just what it implies. It is how strong you are physically. How long you can run, how fast you can move, how flexible you are, your physical strength. It also includes the strength of your chakra and how much the individual in question possesses."

"This," she continued pointing at the characters for 'ninja techniques' "includes all areas of ninja techniques. That means taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu, bukijutsu. It also includes any of the more esoteric arts used in combat such a puppetry and seals. Basically anything ninja learn for direct application in combat. Kekkei Genkai also fall into this category."

"Finally," said Nao-sensei pointing at the last item "skill in application is in some ways the most difficult to understand. It means your ability to take ninja techniques and base physical condition and apply them effectively in a combat scenario. You can know a dozen S-Rank kinjutsu but if you have poor Skill in Application the benefits they provide would be less than a shadow of their true potential. This is also the area that most 'prodigies' excel at and what earns them their distinction early on. Instinctively they know how to best apply what they learn to maximum effect while avoiding retaliation."

Rei thought about it. It was a very interesting model. Fascinating even. But… "What does this have to do with my situation and with staying at the academy?" she asked genuinely curious.

Nao-sensei gave her a look that questioned her intelligence. "Which of these three do you imagine will be crippled by you staying at the academy?"

"Uhm…" said Rei looking back at the list, "… just, ninja techniques I suppose," she mumbled. The other two she could continue to improve even without Genin rank. Actually she could also continue to improve things such as her taijutsu.

Nao-sensei nodded at her response. "Yes. However I do not think that should worry you. In the long term holding off on improving your category of 'ninja techniques' will not be detrimental to your growth as a ninja."

Rei looked at Nao-sensei a little dubiously. "How do you figure?"

"Ninja techniques are by far the quickest and easiest things to learn and thus the easiest way to increase your total combat score. Learning any new ninja technique will typically only take between a few days to a few months which in terms of ninja training is but the blink of an eye relatively speaking. Skill on the other hand takes consistent practice over years to significantly improve. You base physical condition is even more time and effort intensive. It can take over a decade of hard work for a ninja to come anywhere near their theoretical physical peak. In your case it will be impossible to even approach your physical potential until you reach full physical maturity."

Rei leaned on the desk looking at the paper as she digested that. "So you're saying… what? To focus on my skill and physical condition because ninja techniques are easy to pick up?"

"Relatively easy. But the answer to your question is yes," she paused "do you begin to understand now why ninjutsu and other related skills are so jealously guarded? Because it takes very little effort comparatively to get a large spike in combat power. The prospect of quick power is extremely tempting and seductive. It is also so very romantic," she said sounding a touch annoyed "everyone knows ninja spit fire and call down lightning to strike down their foes. Everyone knows the First Hokage could create a small forest during a battle. However everyone forgets that this formula is multiplicative. The end number is _always_ the important thing. A ninja with a weak body and poor skill will never beat one who has put in the proper effort into those categories even if he could use both the Sharingan and the Mokuton. I don't want to see my students falling into the trap of obsessing over jutsu."

Her mind immediately went to thinking of a hypothetical Chunin exam Sakura having both the Mokuton and the Sharingan… and how that fight would turn out if she went up against Rock Lee. It almost made Rei want to wince. She would still be hopelessly crushed. Even early Chunin exam Naruto with his massive chakra reserves would still probably lose to Lee even with the Sharingan and Mokuton… and that is without Lee even opening any of the eight gates. Rei was starting to see things in a new light. Maybe graduating early… wasn't as important as she had first thought.

Maybe.

"What do you think your classmate Rock Lee lacks?" Nao-sensei asked in her teacher voice, mentioning the boy almost as if she had been reading her thoughts.

Rei thought about it with a scrunched brow. "He's actually in great physical condition for the class and he can execute the individual taijutsu moves just fine. Putting them together is where he struggles. So… he lacks skill? He has poor skill in putting together his body and his taijutsu doesn't he?" she said starting to apply the new model to real life situations.

"That would be correct. His Skill in Application score if very poor dragging down his total combat score considerably," she said without inflection, "what about the Hokage? He's lived a largely sedentary lifestyle behind a desk for decades and is now an old man. How is it possible that he is still most likely the strongest ninja in the village?"

"That is because," she said as she thought it over. It didn't take her very long, "his physical score has most likely deteriorated to some degree but the other two categories haven't. His skill and ninja techniques must be extremely high and together they help to offset deficiencies in the third category."

"Yes," Nao-sensei said looking pleased, "thus you can see how some of this is interchangeable. A person could become one of the strongest in the village with just a high physical and skill score and a relatively limited ninja technique score," the teacher said.

Rei's mind went to Might Gai who in most situations just utilized taijutsu. His extremely high base physical scores and high skill scores were enough to defeat most Jounin even without his eight gates technique. This really was a fascinating new model and she was already thinking about how she could use it to help plan her own development.

She also thought of a young Kakashi. From what she remembered when he was a Genin and Chunin his physical scores must have been poor compared to older more experienced ninja. His ninja techniques were probably good but nothing overly powerful or unusual. It made sense that he made a name for himself as a young kid on an incredibly skewed Skill in Application score.

Something however kept nagging Rei about the whole thing. "I feel like something is missing though. I think this formula is incomplete," she said with a frown.

Nao-sensei smiled slightly at that. "Oh? What exactly do you think is missing?" she asked.

"Knowledge," said Rei decisively, "ninjas acquire a lot of knowledge that can be useful in battle. Knowledge of the most likely jutsu of your enemies and how to counter them, of strategies and tactics, knowledge of the terrain and the battle conditions, etc etc. Those are important and count for something."

Nao-sensei's eyes sparkled and the woman managed to look very pleased despite her expression never changing. "Quite perceptive of you. I suppose they don't call you a genius for nothing," the woman said.

Rei felt her face getting hot and she looked away. She'd never gotten embarrassed when called her that before. Why was it happening now?

"Of course you are right. However in straight combat scenarios it was generally agreed that while knowledge was important it could not be weighed equally with the other three. Thus the most widely accepted revised formula is this," she said reaching over and writing another line on the sheet of paper.

**Basic Physical Condition x Skill in Application x Ninja Techniques x (Knowledge/2) = Total Combat Power**

"Going back to the example of the Hokage," Nao-sensei continued, "he is a man well known for his incredible wealth of knowledge. So you see his deterioration in the physical would be even further mitigated by a disproportionately high knowledge score. Knowledge can be very useful but it is not as critical as the other three categories."

Rei examined the papers looking for any holes that she could see in the logic. "What about intelligence?" she asked, "that has to play some kind of role doesn't it?"

"Yes it does," said Nao-sensei, "high intelligence aids in the categories of Knowledge and Skill in Application. Skill in Application also includes applying your skills through the use of plans and strategies which are both heavily affected by intelligence. Acquiring knowledge and applying it correctly also rely on intelligence. It aids in two of the four categories but would not work as a stand-alone variable in this model."

Rei nodded at that. It made sense. This discussion was fascinating and it was also making her happy in other ways. It had been a while since she had used her brain in such a critical way and she almost felt like spiderwebs were clearing out of her head as they discussed the issue.

"So why isn't this used anymore?" asked Rei.

"The problem with this model," Nao-sensei began "comes when people try to measure and assign numerical values to each category. That was never figured out to anyone's satisfaction and that is why the model fell out of official favor. The administration wanted a number they could look at quickly and feel some degree of confidence in what they were seeing. I myself am not a fan of the new system since I think it mostly fail in its intended purpose. However _this_ system is a great conceptual model and it also makes for a great teaching tool. I plan on introducing it to your class on their fifth year when they might have a better chance of understanding the implications."

The conversation died a natural death after that. Rei closed her eyes and took a deep shuddering breath. She didn't feel like everything was resolved but this conversation had done a lot of calm her down. It had started to give her something she had desperately needed – perspective. This discussion had shown her that a blind rush progressing through the ranks would not necessarily be better for achieving her goals than a more traditional approach. In fact now that she thought about it there was a good chance it would personally be worse for her. Rei was still nervous about what living life as a ninja would entail.

In a rush of gratitude Rei wanted to hug or kiss Nao-sensei but held back instinctively knowing her teacher wouldn't appreciate any of that. Instead she settled for smiling at her, a sincere grateful smile Rei let very few people see. She didn't _really_ know why Nao-sensei had gone out of her way to talk to her but Rei felt very glad just the same. "I think I understand sensei," she said, meaning more than just the last point they had discussed.

Nao didn't reply instead acknowledging her unspoken thank you with a small nod. Her attitude didn't indicate anything unusual at all had happened and Rei was glad Nao-sensei wasn't the type to make a big deal out of things. Then the teacher looked at the clock mounted on the wall before she spoke.

"I've got somewhere to be," she said gathering up her things. She efficiently put everything away and without another word stood up and headed to the door.

Rei watched a little surprised as the woman walked away without so much as a 'goodbye' or a 'get out of the classroom'. It was more than a bit rude and Rei didn't _really_ want Nao-sensei leaving just yet. Without really thinking of what to say she called out her name.

"Nao-sensei, wait" she called out and regretted it the instant it was out of her mouth. She didn't really have anything to say she just wasn't ready for her teacher to leave.

Nao-sensei stopped and turned around. She must have seen something in her face because she left Rei with a few parting words.

"The problem with being smart is that your mind can be your own worst enemy. Think about what we've talked about."

With that she was gone and Rei was left to think about her advice.

000

After Nao-sensei left Rei picked up her three scrolls and headed out the door. She was feeling emotionally drained and her head was filled with too many thoughts. Rei knew she needed to sit down and really think but at the same time she wanted to stop thinking even if just for a little while. With that in mind she went out to one of the academy training grounds.

The two of them had spoken for a good while and now the academy and the grounds around it were nearly deserted. Rei saw no one as she made her way through one training field after the other until she reached one at the very back of the property that had been allocated for use by the academy. As Rei looked over the field she was reminded why she liked that one the best. It was small and surrounded snugly by trees in such a way that made it feel sheltered. Just past the tree line at the far end there was shallow pool of slow moving water. For weeks Rei had been sneaking off to these training grounds whenever she had the chance. Not only did she find it peaceful but the pool was an ideal place to practice waterwalking.

Rei set her things down a safe distance away before walking up to the water's edge. It was cooler under the shade of the trees and the silt in the water made it look dark and foreboding. Rei had never been comfortable jumping into any body of water in which she couldn't see the bottom which was why she had chosen this particular pool as extra motivation to learn the exercise quickly. Rei closed her eyes and tried to will her mind to empty as she gathered chakra to the bottom of her feet. With a steadying breath she took her first step out onto the water.

It held. A minor thrill ran through her, the same thrill she felt every time she walked on water when in her last world only the literal son of God was said to have such an ability. Did being children of the Sage of the Six Paths make them children of a god? It was nice to think so in a way though ultimately Rei doubted the reality was anything quite so pleasant. She took another step onto the water easily, the regulation of chakra at the bottom of her sandals almost having become second nature by that point. Soon she was standing in the middle of an inky pool, water still while the shadows of the trees and an overcast sky lent the scene an intimate dark feel.

Rei was feeling restless and if she stopped too long it felt like thoughts would begin to overwhelm her again. Thinking that what she needed was to keep herself busy Rei began to move, slowly going through the first taijutsu form of Konoha Standard. Movements flowed one after the other with the added difficulty of staying on top of the water forcing Rei to move slowly and deliberately. She moved smoothly like a dancer letting her complete concentration on what she was doing anchor her. Gradually her mind cleared somewhat as she lost herself in graceful movement.

It was pleasant. It was repetitive. Rei knew she had probably done the same form a thousand times since she was three and that familiarity made it comforting. Konoha Standard had become almost like an old friend. For a time Rei tried to lose herself in the well-worn movements.

Things in her mind did not clear enough however and Rei was beginning to think she was just avoiding the inevitable. With a sigh she stepped off the water a little annoyed than even in this place she couldn't fully escape her troubles for even a few minutes. She picked up her things and made sure to store her new scrolls safely in her robe just in case. After thinking about it for a minute Rei decided she knew just the spot she wanted to go to and finally work on sorting out all her thoughts. With determined steps Rei started walking back home.

When she walked through the front door she saw her mother sitting on the couch in the living room reading a book. Too preoccupied to pay her any mind Rei moved to walk past her to the back yard.

"Hey honey," called out her mother "how was your day?"

"Fine," said Rei automatically before briefly pausing "and yours?"

"Good. Busy at the shop as always. Are you hungry?" Emiko asked with a smile.

"No," said Rei bluntly "I'll be in the backyard if you need me mom. I've got something to do."

"Oh," said Emiko sounding a little disappointed "you're always so dedicated. Well don't be out there too late and make sure to eat something before bed."

Rei didn't reply and just gave her mother a curt nod before heading out back.

The sky was overcast and the sun was beginning to set leaving the whole back yard in a half-light that seemed to fit Rei's current mood almost perfectly. She didn't hesitate before walking to the gigantic Harashima tree at the corner of her back yard. Rei almost absent mindedly began to walk up the trunk of the tree having mastered the technique some time ago. It wasn't long before she made it to the large branches at the top of the canopy where she often came when she wanted to be alone.

Finding a good spot to learn against the trunk and sit Rei finally let everything that had been bothering her come to the forefront of her mind. The conversations she'd had earlier had left her deeply disturbed and probably not in the ways her teacher had intended. For six years Rei had been so focused on a single goal she had lost sight of what felt like just about everything else. She couldn't believe she had forgotten there were _other_ things that mattered just the same if not more than her eventual escape from Konoha.

Everything had also gotten her to start thinking… what had she been doing to herself?

_Your mind can be your own worst enemy. You are grinding yourself into dust and the only one responsible for it is yourself._

It was true wasn't it? Rei really thought about it and it was clear that all the misery she had been living with the last three weeks had been completely self-inflicted. In her desire to push forward and never compromise even with herself Rei realized she had been making herself completely miserable and that in turn had been turning her into something… ugly. Something that saw casual violence as stress relief and saw no worth in others beyond what they could do for her.

Where had she gone so wrong?

_You need to ask yourself if that is the type of person you want to be._

What kind of person had she been so far?

Rei had been dead set almost from the moment she opened her eyes in this new world on rejecting Konoha and the ninja system she had been born into in its entirety. The Chunin exams, the caged bird seal, the dirty missions the village took, the propaganda, the torture, on and on Rei had decided to harden herself and work for the day when she could be free of such things. In the process though Rei had started to think she had missed something important. Something fundamental.

What kind of person was she turning into?

Rei rubbed her face and forced herself to look at her situation from a different angle. _What orders are you rebelling against right now Rei-chan? _What _was_ she turning herself inside out fighting right now?

Grudgingly, very grudgingly Rei had to admit things were not bad for her personally. They were not bad at all. In fact they were very, very good when you took everything into account. Rei was not one of the victims in this world. In fact she was one of the elite. Though she heard the phrase at school directed at her occasionally it really was an apt description; she was a ninja princess. She had all the resources she would ever need and then some. She was jealously protected by the clan and the village and was almost untouchable. Even the Hokage himself couldn't get rid of her without massive political fallout. Her situation in Konoha was almost as good as it could possibly be. So why was she fighting so hard against it?

_Because I'm afraid that accepting my place in Konoha will mean selling out on my principles. Because I'm afraid if I embrace my life here I'll slowly come to accept things as they are and never want to leave._

But what else could she do? Her only other option was to do what she had been doing for the past six years. Her only other option would be to live in resentment, rejecting the world around her and slowly turning into something twisted and ugly. Another decade of doing that and there would be nothing left but a hard emotionless shell that was just as bad if not worse than the system she was rebelling against. If she did that in the end she would only succeed in hurting herself. Konoha itself would not be harmed or perturbed in the least.

_I want to be a good person. In my last life I made a conscious effort to be good to people and do the right thing. I don't want to be the type of person who views other children as less than human. _

What about letting people in? It was a question she had struggled with right from the very beginning. In her whole six years in Konoha she's only _really_ let two people even a bit past her walls. Ino was the first and more recently Tenten. Though she cared about her parents, especially Emiko who Rei spent the most amount of time with, the truth was she had deliberately kept an emotional distance from them especially once she got old enough to become more independent. No wonder she had broken down in front of Nao-sensei. When was the last time she had opened up to anyone? Had she ever done so even once in this life? She was fairly sure the answer was no.

Accepting her place in Konoha meant making actual, genuine, real connections with people. Could she really do that? Could she start looking at people like people and not like meaningless backdrops or simply extensions of Konohagakure?

_I'm afraid if I start doing that I'll suddenly decide that Konoha isn't really that bad and dying before thirty for a barbaric system will start looking acceptable because all the people I care about live here. Is that really true though? Will I really become fully assimilated into Konoha if I accept my place here for the time being and start letting people in?_

After thinking about it for a while she realized with no small measure of relief that the answer was no. Rei knew she would never think preteens fighting a bloodsport in a coliseum as entertainment and diplomacy was an acceptable thing and a good idea. She would never be ok with twelve year olds killing bandits as "just the way the world works". She would never be truly comfortable living under an authoritarian regime and she would never in a million years accept that a violence based economy was how the hidden villages should be run. In short even if she accepted her place in the Village Hidden in the Leaves she would never _truly_ be part of the system as she feared as long as she stuck by her principles.

_Is this what we're going to do? Accept our place in the village? What then?_

Rei knew, _knew_ that this course of action might end up changing her plans for the future. She knew if she grew to care more about the people around her she might decide when the time came that she did not want to leave. She might end up trying to stay and change the system however futile an effort that would be. Rei knew even a Kage would only be able to change so much. Still the possibility did exist that she would decide to stay.

Still a part of Rei that had existed in her past life and had carried on to this one was her sense of wanderlust and the sense that she was a free spirit. Rei was not the type of person to entrench herself in bureaucracy to try to make the world better. Instead she traveled from place to place seeking greener pastures and never content to stay in one place for long. Once she had become an adult she had never lived in any one city for more than three years. It was simply part of who she was and she had absolutely no desire to change.

Knowing she couldn't leave the walls of Konoha always made her feel trapped and she'd always had a burning desire to wander and explore the Elemental Nations and see all the wonders of a brand new continent. She could see herself wandering the world, perhaps as a hermit, until she was old and grey and was finally called onwards toward the next life. It was a calling deep in her soul and one she knew she wouldn't be able to ignore forever.

Would she leave? Or would she stay? In the end she decided that she would most likely leave though she knew in her heart that wasn't set in stone. Not anymore. Still regardless of what she eventually chose to do her plan forward had not changed; she would become an S-Rank ninja or she would kill herself trying. All her other plans would inevitably stem from that.

In the end it came down to something simple; she wanted to do the right thing. She wanted to be a good person. If her choices were hating her place in Konoha and turning into something ugly because of it or accepting it and running some risks because of it the choice became abundantly simple. Rei knew she didn't have to be a bad person simply because she lived in Konoha. Naruto had managed it hadn't he? There was no reason she couldn't do the same.

Rei stood up, feeling oddly naked yet more calm than she had in many years. The perpetual mental pain and anguish of the last few weeks was already leaving making her feel like she could _finally_ take a full deep breath of air. This was the right decision. There were no perfect solutions but Rei already felt more confident that maybe, just maybe, she could grow up to be someone her past self would not have been horrified at.

She decided she would start right away. There were some amends she needed to make.

Rei threw herself off the branch she was standing on and ran down the trunk of the tree with as much effort as it would take her to run on a flat stretch of land. With some nervousness she thumbed the kunai in her sleeves for comfort as she entered through the back porch of her house. In seconds she found who she was looking for; her mother, still sitting on the couch reading the book as she had before.

"Mot – mom," she said. Her voice hitched a little. Emiko must have heard it because she quickly turned to face Rei, concern clear in her blue eyes.

"What is it Rei?" she asked gently putting the book down.

"I-," she didn't know where to begin. Emiko _was_ her mother and Rei had distanced herself from her more and more since she had first learned to walk. The last several weeks had been much worse. Even if she had memories of two mothers she felt Emiko had earned her place nearly as much as her first mother had. She wanted to apologize but she didn't even know how to start.

Rei knew she must have looked distressed because her mother stood up and walked over to her. The older woman crouched down until she was eye level with Rei and eyed her daughter with tender concern. "What is it honey? Is everything all right?"

Rei felt her eyes water. She didn't know what to say so she simply threw her arms around her mother squeezing her in the tightest hug she could. By her surprised grunt and slight stiffening Rei could tell she had surprised the woman. How could she not have? She had stopped seeking out her mother for affection when she was about three years old. Right around the time she started training to be a ninja.

Emiko hesitated for another second before gingerly wrapping her arms around Rei. The blonde six year old melted into the hug. _Why did I fight this for so long?_

"Rei? You're starting to worry me honey. What's wrong?" Emiko asked.

"Just-I, I'm sorry for being such a bitch the last few weeks. You didn't deserve that and neither did dad." _I'm sorry for how I've treated you for years. I don't want to be that kind of person_.

"Rei," Emiko said her voice reproachful, "I really don't want you using that kind of language. It's not proper."

Rei couldn't help it, she let out a strangled laugh at that. "Right… sure mom. You know me, always about being proper," she said through choked giggles. Then she sobered up. "I really am sorry though."

"It's ok," her mom assured her as she stated running her fingers through her hair, "in all honesty I've mostly just been worried about you. I haven't seen you looking happy even once since you found out you wouldn't be advancing."

"Yeah well," said Rei a little sulkily "maybe I just realized I was being just a little bit melodramatic about the whole thing."

Emiko laughed at that. "Maybe," she said then pulled away from Rei far enough to look at her. "How about we make dinner together just for tonight? You sister should be back from your aunt's house before too long."

Rei wiped her eyes with her sleeves and managed to offer her mother a small genuine smile. "Sure. I'd like that."

000

**AN: This chapter marks the end of the first story arc. Did anyone see a resolution like this coming? The second arc is going to revolve around Rei getting her own unique style. Hope you've enjoyed the story so far and thanks for reading. Special thank you to Stripes on SB for posting the picture of Mami as an "adult Rei". I quite like the picture and have no problem picturing her that way (though obviously wearing a different outfit). That picture is now the image of this fic. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**000**

_**One Year Later**_

Chakra is ever changing. Physical energy, spiritual energy, chakra, all of those things are like the seasons. They wax and wane in intensity, in flavor, in how they vibrate and mix together. Calling what ninja use "chakra" is like reducing all the oceans, rivers and lakes of the world with their ever changing movement and transformations to merely the word "water". It is not wrong but at the same time missed so much.

Chakra was like water… always seeping into the cracks and finding low places. It could take on any number of flavors and colors but at the end of the day chakra never changed, just like water was always water no matter what it was mixed with. Chakra nourished all things without trying to just like water did. It was simply its nature.

The alarm went off and Rei opened her eyes. A tiny smile graced her lips. Seven nights. She'd been able to ride the waves of chakra in her 'sleep' for seven nights in a row now. The blonde girl began to hope that meant the nightly practice had stabilized again. Finally.

After she had lost the ability to feel her chakra and be at least marginally aware of the world around her as she slept it had taken six months of diligent meditation to achieve that state again. Even when she did it would only happen intermittently on occasional nights. This was the first time she had managed it this many nights in a row in over a year.

Had it stabilized again? Only time would tell. She was thrilled she could achieve that state somewhat easily now though. It was something that was uniquely 'her' and something she still hoped would pay off somehow down the line.

Rei turned off her alarm and glanced at the small bed on the other side of the room from her. To her surprise she found that it was empty. That was odd because Rei couldn't remember the last time she hadn't been the one to wake up first and drag her sister out of bed in the morning.

_I can't believe I didn't notice her leaving… she probably couldn't sleep. Too excited about today. _

Rei made a note to work on being more aware as she 'slept' at night. With that in mind she crawled out of bed and went about setting out her things for the day before going to the bathroom. Inside she noticed the shower had been used already.

_Ino must already be downstairs. I guess she is excited about today_ Rei thought having mixed feelings about the issue.

Rei took care of her morning necessities and took a shower quickly before going back to her room. After donning her normal lilac and black battle kimono with black sandals she made sure all her weapons were in her pouch at her hip along with all the other weapons she had concealed in her robe. Satisfied Rei took a quick look at herself in the mirror.

Her honey-blonde hair had lightened a shade from the sun and it hung just past her shoulders. Even a year later she still very much liked her choice of wardrobe, the black on lilac giving the outfit a somewhat bold and aggressive flavor. Her posture automatically went straight but relaxed and she folded her arms inside her voluminous sleeves. It was a casual posture that nobles and highly ranked people tended to adopt when wearing traditional kimonos and Rei had gotten used to the practice. It looked and felt dignified. Besides it also gave her easy access to the weapons she kept hidden in her sleeves.

Satisfied Rei nodded to her reflection once before turning and heading out the door. She was halfway down the stairs when she heard her sister and her mom taking in the kitchen. The honey-blonde reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to greet her family when the words died in her throat.

_What is she…? Oh by Kami and all the spirits what have I done?_

Her little sister wasn't wearing the outfit she had chosen to wear in the story. Instead she was wearing a deep purple battle kimono with a white collar and accents. The sash around her waist was a lighter shade of purple and her sandals were standard shinobi blue. The white arm warmers had been replaced with an older more traditional skin tight material (also white) which covered her arms from wrist to elbow.

Ino had chosen her outfit to look like her big sister. Rei didn't know if she wanted to slap herself on the head or hug her little sister until she was blue in the face. The honey-blonde girl knew she was probably overreacting but this was the first big noticeable deviation from 'canon' that she was sure she had been responsible for. It was silly but she felt like looking outside to make sure no meteors were crashing down to earth.

Then again this world had never been exactly like the one she remembered from the story. Still she couldn't help but worry now that she had irrefutable proof her presence had changed things.

_Hell screw it. I'm not about to start tip-toeing around because I 'might change something'. Besides she looks way better than she did with her 'canon' outfit. That thing was kind of ugly, especially those arm warmers. _

Ino's battle kimono wasn't exactly like Rei's and that also made the older girl breathe a little easier. Aside from the differing color schemes it was also less conservative and traditional looking than Rei's. The sleeves were short stopping at mid bicep and the length stopped an inch short of mid-thigh as opposed to Rei's longer knee-length cut. It fit her personality which was more open and outgoing than that of her more severe older sister.

_Except for the colors she's dressed almost exactly like a young Tsunade now that I think about it. A young Tsunade and a young Orochimaru, what are the odds? I wonder if that paranoid old man is going to twist this into me doing something suspicious._ Though they hadn't met since she was five due to certain recent events her regard for the Hokage had… deteriorated considerably. Even more so than the usual.

"Hey, Nee-chan!" Ino said when she spotted her, "what do you think? We got this last week but I wanted to surprise you." The platinum blonde stepped forward and did a little twirl to show off her new outfit. Rei couldn't help but smirk a little and let bit of teasing slide into her voice.

"Looking good Ino. Though I can't help but notice there's something… familiar about the way you're dressed though," she said, cupping her chin in a mock thinking pose. The smile on her face gave the game away though.

"You think so?" asked Ino innocently.

Rei pretended to think about it then nodded deceivably. "Yes. Looks a little bit like my style. Not that I can blame you really, it's only natural for you to want to dress like your esteemed Nee-sama after all."

Ino wrinkled her nose at that and then gave her sister a mischievous grin. "It's about the only good wardrobe decision you ever made Nee-chan. Everything else you wear looks like you picked it out when you were blindfolded."

Rei blinked at that and then blinked again. _Did… did my little sister just sass me?_ That had never, _ever_ happened before. Ino had always been too in awe of her big sister and too young for any kind of banter like that. Granted teasing her about her wardrobe (which was fine if a little utilitarian) was pretty mild but still.

_My little sister is growing up. I think I will hug the crap out of her after all. _

"Come 'ere!" Rei yelled before dashing across to the kitchen. Before Ino could so much as squeak she wrapped her arms around the smaller girl and crushed her to her chest. The Elemental Nations were more reserved when it came to physical contact than her old world but she'd gotten Ino used to constant hugs and other forms of physical affection. However that was in private. In front of other people the girl had limits and being hugged and snuggled like an oversized plushy was one of them.

"Let go!"

"Nope."

"You're squeezing me too hard! Let go."

"Nope."

"Mooom! Tell her to let go."

"Rei honey let your sister go," Emiko said as she watched the scene with amusement in her eyes, "you two have to eat quickly and get going. We don't want Ino to be late for her first day at the academy."

"Oh fine," Rei said with pretend grumpiness, giving her sister one final squeeze before letting her go. Maybe if she compressed her enough she would stop growing. Ino shot her a disgruntled look before going over to sit for breakfast. Rei followed suit and the three of them proceeded to eat quickly.

Luckily Ino could never stay mad at her and in less than a minute all seemed forgiven as Ino chatted excitedly about her first day at the academy. Rei listened as she ate while privately feeling more than a little worried. If she'd had the power she might have tried to keep Ino out of the life of a ninja… but there was no guarantee that would actually help her survive and thrive in the world especially with all the dangerous events that were scheduled to take place. What Rei really wanted was to be able to protect her little sister's innocence. It was an impossible wish but she couldn't help but feel that way. The best she could do was support her sister and make sure she didn't slack off on her training.

This was also Rei's first day of her second year. She couldn't help but wonder what the new year would bring. Hopefully something to shake up the routine. Recently Rei had started to worry that her progress might be getting a bit stagnant even with her _very wonderful_ new tutor helping her out.

There would be time to think about it later. Right now they had to get going to make it to class.

000

Walking to the academy felt a bit like a procession and decidedly off since Rei was used to walking the distance to the academy alone. Dead leaves crunched underfoot as Rei walked with Emiko and Ino. Their mom had wanted to walk Ino to school the first day which was nice of her. Still Rei couldn't help but feel a bit twitchy at the lackadaisical pace they were taking.

As always Ino for the life of her couldn't stop talking when something caught her interest. Especially when she was nervous or excited on top of that. She never seemed to run out of things to talk about. Was she ever that much of a chatterbox in the story?

"… and then he was like, why don't we play shogi instead? That's all he ever wants to do sit around and play shogi shogi shogi. Plus Chouji doesn't even help me when he gets like that! I practically had to push them out the door to get them to do something fun. Shika will have to start thinking of something other than shogi and clouds now that we're starting the academy though because otherwise his mom is totally going to let him have it, and…"

If Rei had to guess the members of the original Ino-Shika-Cho team had gotten together and cooked something up because for the last three months or so Ino had found herself taken to frequent playdates with Shikamaru and Chouji. Rei was always invited but she rarely went. The curly haired girl went enough to get to know Shikamaru and Chouji reasonably well though. While she wasn't big on the social networking aspect of ninja life getting to know the two heirs of their closest allied clans seemed like a smart thing to do and something that could come in handy in the future. Plus it had just been neat to meet two of the main cast of the story even if they were just little awkward kids. They were even more likable than the average brats what with being generally quiet and less annoying.

It seemed that even before they officially started the academy their parents were already angling for a second incarnation of the famed Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Rei wasn't sure how she felt about that. On the one hand the three families were known for having great synergy in their abilities. On the other hand it seemed like an incredibly narrow criteria for selecting a team. Shouldn't other things factor in like compatibility of the people in question? Actually on second thought that was probably more than half the reason for pushing them to become friends early on. That kind of deliberate early planning seemed… forced to Rei who preferred to let things develop organically. But hey if it worked it would help keep her sister safe so Rei wasn't about to complain.

At least she hadn't been the one slotted for the Ino-Shika-Cho team. Rei shuddered at the thought. Except for Ino everyone on that team had seemed like a lazy bum including their sensei.

It wasn't long before they made it to the academy gates with only a few minutes to spare before the ceremony for first year students began. The place was already filled with six year old children and their parents standing around near the raised stage used for presentations. Rei looked around to see if she recognized anyone when a kid standing seemingly apart from all the rest of the group caught her eye.

Rei almost didn't recognize him at first because he looked subtly different than in the story. His outfit wasn't an obnoxiously loud orange but rather a muted shade of orange that you actually might find in the natural world. It was a color stuck somewhere between brown and orange and at a glance not nearly as bad for stealth as his iconic track suit from the show. From what she could see the whisker marks on his face looked more like thin faded scars than the simple lines they were drawn as. He was leaning against a tree looking at all the other kids standing around with their families with a look of longing on his face.

Rei debated doing something about it. She _was_ making an effort to be a better person now though it was occasionally a bit disturbing how much effort that actually took. Before she could decide anything one way or the other he pushed away from the tree and walked off purposefully around the corner of the building. Something on his face made the honey-blonde think the kid was about to go pull off some prank and get into trouble.

_So that was Naruto_ she mused. Just as she remembered with perhaps the sharp edges of his ridiculous clothing taken off. She wondered if anything else about him had been exaggerated in the story.

"Come on the ceremony's going to start soon Nee-chan," said Ino drawing back Rei's attention. She grabbed her sister by the hand and tried to pull her along.

"Actually I can't Ino," Rei said, "the opening ceremony is only for first years. My class starts at the same time as the ceremony so I can't stay to watch."

Ino looked disappointed and let go of her hand. "Oh I didn't know that. Would you um… would it be ok if you met with me after school so we can walk home together? Not that I'll make you do that every day or anything, just it's the first day and, you know…" she said trailing off and sounding a bit embarrassed for asking.

Rei mussed her hair with a fond smile on her face. "Of course I don't mind little sis. I'll meet your by the front gates after classes end."

Ino batted Rei's hand away and looked around to make sure no one had seen her sister messing up her hair like she was a little kid. She gave Rei a half-hearted glare that only lasted for a second before she broke into a smile. "Thanks Nee-chan. I'll see you after school!"

Rei said goodbye to Ino and her mother before setting off at a slow pace towards her classroom, arms folded in her sleeves as had become her habit. As she did she looked around looking for any familiar faces. She spotted Chouji and Shikamaru standing together with their respective mothers. Shika gave Rei a nod which the girl returned thinking how nice it was to have another hyper intelligent child running around. Shikamaru wasn't a great conversationalist but at least the things she said very rarely went over his head. She spotted everyone else from the 'Rookie 9' and for the most part they seemed like what she remembered. Shino looked the same in his long coat and glasses which looked adorable on a six year old. Kiba didn't seem to have Akamaru yet and was looking calmer than his story portrayal would have suggested him capable of being. Hinata was with an older lady and at least stood straight with her head raised as she watched everything. Maybe she didn't have as bad a self-esteem and shyness issue here as she did on the show.

Sakura was also there with an older woman who had to be her mother. Her hair really _was_ pink, though it was more a darker shade of strawberry pink rather than the blinding shade of bubblegum pink portrayed in the show. She seemed happy enough and Rei hoped she wouldn't have to experience getting picked on as she had in the show, though admittedly she was curious if things would play out as they had in her memories.

Finally there was Sasuke standing off a little separate from everyone else with a man who could only his father Fugaku Uchiha. Rei dimly remembered something about Itachi having to twist the man's arm to come with Sasuke on his first day at the academy. He looked like a serious humorless man every bit like he had been portrayed in the story. Still you would never guess from just looking at him that the man plotted rebellion.

Then there was Sasuke. Maybe it was unfair but she couldn't quite bring herself to see the kid in front of her as just an innocent little boy. Just as Rei had taken an almost instant liking to Nao-sensei the exact opposite could be said of Sasuke. Rei mused that maybe that was because of her memories which did not paint Sasuke in a favorable light to put it mildly. In the later parts of the series he had legitimately tried to kill his former teammates and wanted to burn Konoha to the ground with all the innocent civilians and people still in it for revenge. He'd almost killed his new teammate Karin Uzumaki without an ounce of remorse to get at what was then the current object of his hatred. Rei knew he hadn't done any of those things yet and many others besides but the curly haired girl just couldn't help her gut reaction towards him.

At best she _really_ didn't like Sasuke Uchiha. At worst she utterly despised him and thought everyone would have been better off if he had died on the mission to Wave.

_I really hope my sister doesn't start acting like an idiot fangirl around him like in the story_ Rei thought with an internal groan and an emerging headache at the thought.

Given how the series was going before she stopped paying attention she was pretty sure the author intended for him to be redeemed eventually… but how likely was that really? Thinking back on the series there were parts of it that seemed little more than wishful thinking. Hell sometimes it seemed that even the most depraved of villains could become a good guy if Naruto just yelled at them enough. Rei wasn't that quite that optimistic or that forgiving.

While Sasuke remained oblivious to her she noticed Fugaku looked over in her direction and gave her a long evaluating look. Rei nodded her head politely when she was spotted, a gesture the head of the Uchiha clan did not return. _Asshole_. The girl moved on and wondered if the head of Konoha's Police Force knew about her. He probably did. But was it just as a clan heir and prodigy or had the Third started discreetly spreading around his suspicions to important people?

Rei shook her head. _You're starting to get paranoid. That would be a dumb thing to do and at the end of the day you're just a kid right now. You're not that important in the grand scheme of things. _

Satisfied with having spotted all the major children from the story and not wanting to dally Rei hurried to her classroom. Spotting them all together made the story she remembered seem all the more real. She couldn't help but wonder how much of what she remembered would still come to pass. Chances were a great deal of it would. Once again Rei resolved not to let up on her training for even a minute. In six and a half years or so things would start to get very… interesting.

_May you live in interesting times._

000

Lunch time found Rei in doing the same thing she had done during lunch for most of the previous year. She was sitting with Tenten on a picnic-style table under a tree eating her lunch at a much faster pace than her brown haired friend (Rei used 'friend' for convenience but really saw herself as more of a big sister figure). Like last year most of the kids were still giving Rei – and by extension Tenten – a wide berth and left them alone during lunch.

Rei had become somewhat less prickly and more polite in her effort to not be a total monster and for the most part she succeeded. Looking around though she could see it still hadn't done that much to change the reputation she had earned early during her first year as someone you should stay _far away_ from if you knew what was good for you. All in all Rei decided she was glad things seemed to have stayed the same coming into the new year. She might not beat up bullies or scare people away on purpose anymore but she still didn't want anything to do with most of the six (now seven) year olds in her class.

"So how was your break?" asked Tenten as she munched on her bento.

Rei shrugged. "Same-old same-old. Broke all my previous fitness scores twice more so that's progressing at least. Chakra control got better through I'm getting the point where I'm going to have to go looking for more difficult exercises or make up some of my own. Hmm of yeah and I beat up a couple of Genin," she said causally.

Tenten's eyes almost bulged out of her head at that, just like Rei had been hoping. It was all she could do to suppress a smile.

"You beat up full Genin? How? Why?" she asked rapid-fire, sounding impressed and slightly horrified.

Rei grinned a little, feeling smug. "Well _beat up_ might be an exaggeration. More like beat in taijutsu matches. I've been sparring with some of the better trained Genin in the clan since I was four but the best I could usually do was force a draw. Now though I've finally started winning some of those matches. Not going to lie, I'm pretty damn happy about that," she said, finally letting a grin spread wide across her face like she'd been wanting to do since the beginning.

Sure it wasn't that impressive compared to Kakashi who had beat more than a few Genin by the time he made Chunin at six but Rei knew even _her_ pride and desire to be the best had to have _some_ limits. Beating clansmen who had been Genin for years after she had just turned seven had been a huge validation for her years of hard work. Sure if all techniques and abilities had been allowed she might have lost those spars but then again she might still have won. Beating up Genin did wonders for her ego and her confidence that staying at the slower pace of the academy had been for the best.

She expected Tenten to look at her in awe but instead the brown haired girl just stared at her seeming uncomprehending. "So you can beat full Genin now? As in real ninjas who are out doing missions and stuff?"

"Yeah. Exactly like that," replied Rei watching Tenten carefully.

Instead of what Rei expected Tenten buried her head in her hands and groaned despondently instead. "Oh man, I'm never going to be as good as you am I? I've been training harder than ever and I don't think I've caught up with you even a little bit," she complained pitifully.

That… was not what Rei had been expecting. Without thinking about it Rei stood up and pushed herself over the table to sit next to Tenten. She wrapped one arm around her friend and pulled her in close in a side-hug. Tenten didn't fight it and took comfort from Rei even if the blonde girl was part of the reason for her distress.

"Hey don't let what's happening now at the academy discourage you. Me being the best right now doesn't really help that much unless I can stay on top which is really hard to do. It helps but it doesn't always end up being that big a deal you know?" she paused and thought of something that might cheer the other girl up.

"Tenten you know Jiraiya of the Sanin right?" she coaxed. Reluctantly the girl nodded, the despondent look on her face becoming laced with curiosity.

"Well you'd never guess it but Jiraiya was actually a really terrible student during the academy. Right at the bottom of the class actually so he was way worse off than you," she said passionately trying to cheer the girl up, "then he went on to become a legendary S-Rank ninja feared all over the Elemental Nations. There are plenty of ninja who don't get to be good until later. Me… I'm just kind of a freak you know? You shouldn't compare yourself to me."

Tenten pulled away and punched Rei on the shoulder. "You're not a freak," she muttered. Still a tiny smile appeared on her face. Thank goodness and Kami and everything else for that. If there was one thing Rei couldn't handle it was sad little sisters.

Rei rubbed her shoulder in mock pain. "Yeah well if you're going to punch me every time I say it I might have to stop. You hit hard Tenten-chan," she said jokingly.

The other girl rolled her eyes. "Sure, sure. Can I tell you what I did during the break?" she asked.

"Sure. Go ahead," said Rei before straddling the bench and turning to face Tenten completely.

"Well, my parents started-" began Tenten before she noticed something out of the corner of her eye and stopped cold as she turned to stare.

Wondering what had her friend's mouth hanging open Rei turned to look. Standing close – but not too close – to their table looking at them with an uncomfortable expression on his face was Neji Hyuuga.

Rei couldn't help it; her own mouth opened in a befuddled expression. That she and Neji were on friendly terms was the best she could say but they never interacted outside of physical training time out in the field and he never, _ever_ approached or talked to anyone during lunch. Yet here he was looking twitchy as hell as he stood looking at them trying for neutral expression on his face.

"Neji," Rei said and her own voice came out sounding surprised, "what ya doing there? Nice to see you by the way. Is there anything we can do for you?"

When she spoke to him he visibly twitched again like she had just poked him in the ribs instead of just speaking to him. Rei raised her eyebrows at him but no answer seemed to be forthcoming. She watched him closely as his eyes flickered to Tenten and then settled back on her. Neji was silent for a long uncomfortable minute before he cleared his throat.

"If I may speak with you in private Rei-san I very would much appreciate it," he said in painfully formal tone of voice.

Rei's eyebrows went up to her hairline yet again. She had no idea what was going on with him but she wanted to find out. Glancing over at Tenten she realized he would never speak with the other girl around. Biting her lip Rei made a decision.

"Hey Tenten could you give us a few minutes? I brought some yokan to give you, kind of like a small back to school present. Could you go get it from my bag? I'll try not to keep you waiting for too long I promise," Rei said to Tenten a little apologetically.

Tenten looked back and forth between the tense Neji and an earnest Rei and decided to just go along with it. She'd find out what it was all about later. "You don't mind if I eat some now do you?" Tenten asked her friend.

Rei smiled in relief that Tenten wasn't upset by her sending her away. "Not at all. They're mostly for you so have as much as you want, just don't make yourself sick or anything."

"Yeah yeah I won't eat too much," said Tenten with a good natured roll of her eyes. Rei watched as she shot Neji one last wary look and the girl could have sworn Tenten was going to say something about not being mean to her friend. Then she seemed to think better of it (good decision in Rei's book) and mouthed 'I'll be back' to her friend before standing up and walking back towards the classrooms.

Then they were left alone, Neji looking more tense than Rei had ever seen him. Biting the inside of her lip she resolved to find out what was going on. Part of her mind already had a few ideas on what this might be about.

"Do you want to have a seat?" Rei offered gesturing for him to take a seat across from her. Neji did so with seeming reluctance. The feeling was ridiculously serious for one student wanting to talk to another.

Rei sat ram rod straight and placed her hands on the table looking at Neji with slightly narrowed evaluating eyes. Neji sat straight in a similar way but with his arms crossed across his chest. The two of them stared off across the table at each other until Rei's eyes started to burn from not blinking. It almost seemed like a contest of wills to see who was going to crack first.

_This is so stupid._

"So what can I help you with Neji?" said Rei in her friendliest voice, which she hoped didn't sound forced. She still wanted to get closer to him but this was radically out of character behavior. Rei couldn't help but be a bit wary about it.

Neji hesitated before speaking.

"I believe it would be mutually beneficial for us to become… friendlier acquaintances," he said. Rei couldn't help but notice he sounded like he was chewing glass when he did.

_What the hell are you playing at? _

"So let me get this straight… you came over because you… want to be friends?" Rei asked cautiously. Yeah it was what she had hoped for for a while now but it was obvious something was seriously off.

Neji looked like he was going to reply but instead settled for a terse nod. His normally controlled and neutral face was sporting a slight winkling on his forehead. There was a contained energy about him like he was fighting not to fidget.

Rei didn't reply and instead drummed the fingers of one hand on the table as she thought. So, facts: Neji doesn't want to be doing this, clearly. Yet he was doing it anyway. Swallowing his pride to genuinely make friends? No that didn't feel right. Neji wouldn't go up to somebody and _ask for their friendship_, not on his own anyway. Then what was…?

The light bulb came on as Rei realized what was going on. Or at least what she thought most likely was going on. Making an educated guess Rei took a stab in the dark.

"Someone blabbed didn't they? Someone told Hiashi-sama you were 'friendly' with me. That's what this is all about isn't it?" she said making it more of a statement than a question with a confidence in what she was saying that she didn't completely feel. Neji's facial twitch told her she was right on the money. Keeping her face placid Rei decided to finish her thought out loud.

"Let me guess: somebody regularly asks about how things are going at the academy and you just happened to forget to mention that I was the only person you spoke to in the whole school on a regular basis. Eventually someone found out through some other means. Maybe someone keeping an eye on you? Or it was random chance? At any rate Hiashi-sama or someone else high ranking within the clan 'suggested' that it would be in the best interests of the Hyuuga if you cultivated a personal relationship with me. The genius Yamanaka heiress would be a good friend for the Hyuuga to have in the future. How close am I?" asked Rei, her voice a touch more familiar and humorous than usual between them.

During her whole speech Rei could see the subtle changes in Neji, getting more and more tense as she continued to speak. However after she finished he seemed to hold himself rigid for a few seconds before suddenly relaxing, like an uncomfortable weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Rei thought she saw apprehension mixed with relief.

"I apologize for this charade," began Neji, sounding serious but genuine for the first time since he began speaking to her that day, "it wasn't my idea. It wasn't my intent to make things uncomfortable between us."

Rei wished she had a cup or something to fiddle with. Instead she settled for scratching the surface of the table with one nail. "So I was right then?" she asked careful not to sound too eager.

Neji hesitated before nodding. "More or less. I was instructed to befriend you. I did tell them it was a bad idea but they didn't listen to me," he said, an old bitterness in his voice that made Rei think people in Hyuuga tended to listen to Neji very rarely.

"Well it's not surprising in retrospect. Interesting… but not surprising," said Rei thoughtfully as she pondered what it all meant.

Unexpectedly Neji suddenly stood up surprising Rei. He gave the blonde a polite bow, "Again I apologize. I'll inform Hiashi-sama that I failed in my task. I'll leave you to finish your lunch in peace."

Rei had barely registered what he had said when he was already walking past her. Impulsively she reached out and grabbed his hand. Neji stopped and turned to look at her, a confused wariness in his eyes, but at least he didn't immediately pull away.

"Wait," Rei spoke, "I didn't say no."

Neji's eyebrows rose in question and surprise. When he tried to pull his hand away Rei let him but he didn't immediately run off.

"What do you mean?" he asked, sounding surprisingly young and innocent.

"I didn't say no to being friends," she replied, letting her emotions and sincerity into her eyes.

"Why would you still want to… be friends," he spoke, saying the word 'friends' like he was speaking a foreign language, "I was being insincere with my intentions. Disingenuous. Why would that make you want to befriend me anyways?"

"I know how the game is played. You didn't have a choice, you had to do what you were ordered to right? You wouldn't have done it on your own, you just told me that yourself. That doesn't mean I don't want to be friends. To be honest I've wanted to become friends with you since last year, it just never seemed to quite materialize between us," she said. _You were too prickly and at the rate we were going it would have been another year or two before you opened up enough to consider any kind of genuine friendship. Not that I'm going to say any of that out loud. _

Neji frowned and this time looked at her with outright suspicion. Not the reaction she was looking for. "Why would you want that?"

Rei decided to just lay it all honestly on the table. She thought Neji would at least respect her reasons if nothing else.

"To be honest it's for a few different reasons. You're the only one on my level in this class, we're both called 'geniuses' and 'prodigies' and in some ways you're probably the only one who can understand me. I also want to get stronger and you can help if we train together on a regular basis. I think we can help each other on that front actually. Finally as I understand it the top boy and girl of each graduating class usually end up on the same team so that means there is a good chance we'll be teammates in the future. That means being familiar and comfortable with each other will only help in the long run," she said laying it all out.

Neji seemed to chew that over and Rei felt that she had made the right choice giving it to him straight. If she had gone with some tripe about her feelings she thought there was a good chance he would have scoffed and walked away without another word. At least getting stronger and being possible teammates was something he could understand.

"So this 'being friends' thing," he said a little awkwardly "how would that work? In theory."

Rei felt a surge of excitement run through her as she smiled up at him. "Well for starters we should meet maybe two or three times per week for now to practice, spar, train, that sort of thing. Also we should engage in social activities together but that should be relatively rare and completely optional. I'm sure we both have better things to do than waste our time but it _is_ something friends are supposed to do together from time to time."

Neji seemed to grimace at the mention of 'social activities' but other than that she could only tell he was considering what she said. Rei had to remind herself to keep breathing as she waited for his response.

In the end he just nodded once. "I'll get permission to meet with you on some days after school. It shouldn't be a problem since they were the ones encouraging me to befriend you in the first place."

Rei beamed at him feeling the giddy glow of victory positively radiating from her. "I'm your only equal in this class Neji. Trust me you won't regret it," she said, some of her confident cockiness slipping into her voice.

Neji just nodded again seeming at a loss on how to reply. Apparently deciding business was done he turned around and walked away without another word. Rei was left sitting alone with what was left of her lunch.

_Guess someone should tell him that friends have lunch together too. That probably would have been too much to push on him in one day though. _

000

Less than a minute after Neji left Tenten arrived back at their table. Rei looked at her quizzically. The girl had a slightly guilty expression on her face.

"Were you watching?" Rei asked amused at the face Tenten was making.

"It's not like I could overhear. Just wanted to see when it was safe to come back is all," Tenten protested. "Here," she said handing over the bag of yokan that Rei had brought to school that day. The blonde noticed it was substantially lighter than before. Rei shook the bag and looked meaningfully at Tenten. The other girl giggled and rubbed the back of her head a little abashedly.

"It was _really_ good," she protested with a smile.

"Yeah yeah, well as long as you don't get sick I don't care," Rei said fishing out a piece for herself.

"Sooo… what was that all about?" asked Tenten.

Tenten was maybe a little young to understand all the details but Rei gave her the basic rundown: Neji had wanted to be friends, it had been a little awkward, but the two of them agreed to get together to train and spar on a regular basis. She left out any mention of Neji's clan pushing him to befriend her.

"Oh," said Tenten, trying to smile but it was more than a little brittle looking.

"What's the matter?" asked Rei as she put a second piece of the sweet snack in her mouth.

"Nothing," she said waving it off, "it's nothing." She did seem down all of a sudden though. Rei frowned.

_I can't handle sad little sisters. I swear it's like my kryptonite. _

"I'm not going to be spending any less time with you," Rei assured the other girl.

Tenten shook her head. "It's not that it's just…" she said before trailing off, biting her lip.

Rei had to suppress the urge to sigh. "Just tell me Tenten. I promise I won't get mad," she said patiently.

"Just… you know you two are the best in the class. It's just… we've never trained together after school that's all," she said fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

Rei saw where she was coming from and had to suppress a wince. The two of them only ever trained together when they could find some time after finishing lunch early. Occasionally they would train during other times but it was always during school hours. Now she was going to be spending time with Neji after school at the first opportunity. No wonder Tenten felt… insecure maybe, or like she was being replaced. She already spent a lot of time trying to socialize Neji even before the two of them became official 'friends'.

"Tenten," she said "would you like to get together after school sometimes to train?" she asked.

Tenten's head shot up and her eyes sparkled with surprise and happiness. "Really?" she asked trying and failing to suppress her excitement.

_Bingo. Well I guess doing this won't be so bad. Could be much worse._

In a way Rei didn't want to "train" with Tenten after school because it would be a few hours a week she would no longer have to train herself or perfect some other skill. On the other hand there were only so many hours in a week even she could train and finding an extra hour here and there wouldn't be a big deal even with whatever her new schedule with Neji turned out to be. Time with Tenten was always enjoyable even if she always ended up teaching the other girl instead of making any progress herself.

"Sure. We'll set some time aside a couple of days a week after school. You'll be hitting bull's-eyes left and right before long," Rei said with a light teasing to her tone. Tenten blushed a little and muttered something about how she was getting much better at throwing weapons.

After that they finished off the yokan and lunch passed relatively normally. However Rei's thoughts kept going back to what had happened with Neji. Just thinking about what was coming was enough to push Rei into that state of hyper awareness that came over her every time she was in a fight.

There was something… exciting and heady about the thought of going up against someone in her own age group that could match her. While she had never seen Neji fight the two of them were extremely close in physical ability and his taijutsu forms in Konoha Standard were absolutely beautiful with some foreign flavoring that she could only guess came from the Gentle Fist. He had probably started training around the same time she had and likely had been pushed harder than anyone had ever pushed her. Plus he was an actual genius… despite everything Rei still wasn't sure how naturally talented she _actually_ was and how much of it was hard work and an unfair advantage in the mental capacity department.

Before she realized it Rei found herself grinning for no reason anyone on the outside could tell. Tenten gave her weird looks but she just grinned wider. She couldn't wait to throw everything she had at Neji and see who came out on top.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**000**

Rei found the whole concept of chakra control to be simpler than people made it out to be. In the end it was simply a matter of pushing yourself to do more and more refined and difficult tasks with your chakra. As far as Rei was concerned whatever that "something" was didn't matter as long as she kept pushing herself to do more difficult work or more simultaneous things at once.

She sat cross legged in her room starting intently at the upturned palms of her hands. In each hand was a fine dusting of sand. The girl concentrated as she aimed to wrap her chakra around each individual grain of sand. It was her first time attempting this exercise she had read in an advanced chakra control scroll and she was determined to get it right.

After a few minutes of this she huffed in frustration. She had very optimistically thought she could wrap each grain of sand with her chakra individually from the get go but it was proving to be impossible. Clicking her tongue she singled out just three individual grains of sand in each hand while ignoring the rest. Rei allowed herself to feel a bit of satisfaction when she found this to be well within her abilities. Wrapping her chakra around something so tiny was extremely advanced control for someone her age. She knew there were plenty of Chunin who didn't have control as good as she did.

Concentrating she focused on just her right hand aiming to move a single grain of sand to the middle of her palm. In seconds she succeeded with relatively little effort. While that was simple enough next came the hard part. With her will she moved a second grain of sand to the center of her palm and carefully stacked it on top of the first. Grains of sand were not naturally inclined to stack neatly on top of each other – the only thing holding one on top of the other was the extremely thin coat of her chakra.

Holding those two in place Rei dragged a third grain of sand and very slowly had it crawl up the first two to sit on top of her little growing tower. Her mind completely focused on the task Rei continued to stack grain of sand on top grain of sand in the palm of her hand. Ten minutes later she looked at her hand to find she had a stack of single grains of sand roughly half an inch in height. That was currently her limit. Now came the hard part: building another half-inch high stack in her other hand while making sure the first one didn't collapse.

Twenty minutes later Rei was pleased with herself if more than a bit mentally strained. On each of her palms were half-inch high perfectly vertical stacks of sand one grain thick. It didn't sound very impressive but it was quite an advanced feat of chakra control. Manipulating grains of sand in such a way was delicate work and there were plenty of ninja who went their whole careers without coming even close to having this level of control.

The girl wondered if her unstable tutor could do the same. Reluctantly Rei conceded that the answer was probably yes. Still if things kept going as they were in a year or two she would likely surpass her tutor in chakra control. In a way Rei knew she had to. Her chakra potential wasn't rated all high so she would have to make up the deficit with control. Having insane amounts of spiritual energy for her age sounded like a good thing but in reality didn't currently give her any advantage whatsoever. Learning to use her chakra like a surgical scalpel seemed absolutely necessary.

Speaking of her tutor the woman was due to arrive soon for their weekly training session. Rei glanced at the clock and saw that she only had a few minutes before she needed to be downstairs. Using her chakra Rei gathered the sand in her hands into little balls and deposited them in a tiny lacquered box she kept for just that purpose. Standing up she gathered and checked all her gear twice before taking a deep breath. These training sessions were always a trial and not just because her tutor had a sadistic streak a mile long. At least the woman knew what she was doing and the blonde girl had definitely been improving.

"Rei, come downstairs your tutor is here!" her mom called from downstairs. Rei felt a momentary flash of panic thinking she was late and had kept the woman waiting. She didn't need any more excuses to indulge her sadistic tendencies. Glancing at her clock Rei was relieved that she still had a few minutes before their allotted time.

_Chances are she'll try to make an issue of it anyway, psycho bitch. _

Rei went downstairs to find her mom in the kitchen with her tutor. The woman sat in a chair with her legs crossed, an empty dango skewer hanging from her lips.

"You're late," she said, looking entirely too pleased by that 'fact'.

Anko Mitarashi was nineteen years old and had been a Special Jounin for about ten months… which coincidentally was the same amount of time she had been tutoring Rei once or twice a week. Rei wondered what her first reaction had been when she found out one of her first assignments would be babysitting some kid and imagined it hadn't been pretty. While Rei had liked her personality in the story having to deal with her in real life made the woman a lot less charming.

The woman looked just like she remembered from the story except about six years younger. She wore a miniskirt and a fishnet bodysuit that were much more indecent in real life than the artistic rendition of the story had suggested. The iconic tan duster style coat hung lazily off her frame and Rei always wondered why she chose to wear such an impractical thing. At least the metal shin guards and shinobi sandals made her look a little bit like the professional ninja she claimed to be.

"You're early Anko-sensei which a Special Jounin like you should know. Or is it getting harder to keep track of time in your advancing age?" asked Rei innocently, tilting her head to the side like she was genuinely curious. She knew no one bought her act for a second but it seemed to have the highest rate of success in either amusing or pissing off her part-time sensei.

Anko grinned at her, "I'll have you know I haven't even hit my physical and sexual prime yet. But a mouthy little chibi like you wouldn't know anything about that now would she?"

Rei just stared at her unsure how to respond. Like many of their conversations Rei felt like what Anko said could possibly be another probe, another conversational gambit. Even trading insults with the woman felt dangerous in more ways than one.

"Mitarashi-san, please refrain from speaking about such things in front of my daughter," said Emiko, scowling at Anko. Emiko had disliked Anko almost from the beginning. It amused Rei somewhat since she was pretty sure her mother thought Anko was a general bad influence on her daughter and somewhat of a delinquent. Which Anko most definitely was on both counts.

"Sure sure Yamanaka-san, we'll save all the sex talk for when she starts bleeding and growing boobs. Then she can get some use out of it," she said with an unrepentant smile as her mother's frown deepened. Despite Rei's problems with the woman the two of them did have a lot in common. They both had a bit of a thing for a certain snake for example. They also liked to poke the bear and didn't know when to leave well enough alone.

"Please stop being so crass Mitarashi-san. I'd appreciate it if you would begin your training so you can finish as quickly as possible," said her mom primly. She wouldn't be asking her to stay for tea… not that she ever did.

"Hai Hai, no problem," said Anko irreverently, standing up from her seat in one smooth motion, "come on kid. Let's see how lazy you've been for the past week," the woman said heading for the door to their backyard.

Despite her being a sadistic, uncultured, rude and all around obnoxious person Rei could appreciate Anko's blunt personality and admire her skills. She could even admire her complete 'give no fucks' attitude about life and basically everything. However liking the woman was dangerous because Rei knew she absolutely, positively, one hundred percent could not trust her.

Anko was only really there to watch her and nail her to the wall if she slipped up after all.

000

**_Ten Months Before_**

Rei was having tea with her mother one evening after Ino had gone to bed early when her father came home. They both greeted him and Rei was glad to see him. He was so busy recently that three or four days could go by without her seeing hide or hair of him around the house.

As he sat down with them to have a bit of tea before going to bed Rei could tell there was something on his mind by the way he sent the occasional glance in her direction. They talked about trivial things and about their day and Rei waited patiently for her father to say whatever he was thinking about. After about ten minutes of small talk he came to the point.

"Hokage-sama stopped to talk to me while I was doing my rounds at T&I today," he said, and by his tone of voice Rei could tell he was telling them this for a reason. By the look on her mother's face Emiko had also caught on.

"What was Hokage-sama doing at T&I?" her mother wondered out loud. _What indeed_.

"I'm sure he was just doing an inspection," said Inoichi in a voice that said he also had no idea what the Hokage had been doing there, "but in any case he inquired about Rei's training."

That caused the girl to sit up straight. Getting personal attention from the Hokage was something that made her nervous. By the looks from her parents they were puzzled but not the least bit concerned.

"Did he say why?" asked her mother sipping her tea.

Inoichi shrugged, "Something about impressive reports from the academy. He was quite pleased with how Rei is doing," said her dad with a touch of pride in his voice, "and given how she isn't going to graduate until she is twelve he offered… help to ensure that she would reach her full potential," he finished sounding like he was quoting he Hokage. Inoichi didn't look entirely comfortable with the situation and alarm bells started to go off in her head.

"What sort of help?" asked Rei sipping her tea.

"He insisted in setting you up with a special tutor when it came up that you currently didn't have one," he said, "a new Special Jounin recently promoted. Anko Mitarashi."

Rei would not have noticed if she had not been looking closely but her mother paled slightly and fidgeted at the name. "Isn't she the apprentice of-"

"She is," said her father cutting her off.

Rei didn't have to wonder what her mother was going to say. _Isn't she the apprentice of Orochimaru?_

"Isn't that unusual?" asked Rei.

Her father nodded. "Yes… very unusual. But I didn't have any good reason to decline so there really was no choice but to accept," he said.

Rei nodded at that. Refusing without a good reason would have been seen as an insult to the Hokage and no one wanted to give offence unnecessarily. No doubt the old man had been counting on that.

"What sort of Special Jounin is she?" asked her mother sounding uncomfortable with the situation.

"That's the odd thing… I'm not sure why she was chosen of all people. She was promoted as a counter intelligence agent, hardly teacher material."

Rei choked on her tea and started coughing furiously.

"Rei honey, are you all right?"

000

**_Present Day_**

_Counter intelligence. _Rei thought about her situation yet again as she followed Anko outside. A counter intelligence agent was basically a spy who specialized in catching other spies and infiltrators. Any doubts that she had about worry and suspicion on the part of the Hokage were washed away when she found out the kind of person the Hokage had assigned to 'tutor' her on a regular basis.

In hindsight Rei probably had no one to blame but herself though she hated to admit it. There was the poor impression she had made during their first meeting when her nervousness had made her mouth run more than it should have. Then there was her choice of outfits – though now she couldn't imagine herself wearing anything different it was certainly something the Hokage would have noticed. Then there was that period of time during her first year of the academy that she spent acting like a chibi-sized violent sociopath followed by an almost overnight change in behavior to something more socially acceptable. All that taken with the fact she was the genius heir of a prominent clan… well. It should have been no surprise at all that the Hokage would want to keep an eye on her and make sure she wasn't compromised, an infiltrator, a traitor or Orochimaru 2.0.

However that didn't make it any less nerve wracking or annoying. It also didn't stop her from resenting the Hokage for the whole damn thing. Even if she _was_ holding treasonous thoughts the whole thing felt unjustifiably paranoid and invasive.

Rei was pretty sure she should be feeling more scared. It wasn't that the situation didn't frighten her – it did – but she was far more irritated and angry about the whole thing. Rei knew she was good at nursing grudges and she tended to dwell on this one more than was strictly healthy. If she thought she had the skill or that she could get away with it she would totally go and kick the Hokage's ass. Having that woman around all the time looking for signs of instability or seditious thinking had been playing havoc on her levels of stress for nearly a year.

Then again it hadn't been _all_ bad. The pain (literal and metaphorical) of being around the snake woman was offset by her competence. Anko was a sadist who liked to hit her with kunai that had sharp tips but blunted edges. The kunai broke the skin and made her bleed without doing _too_ much damage but it hurt like hell and that was only one of the ways Anko had introduced a lot of seemingly gratuitous pain into her training. Rei had resented it at first until she realized Anko was training her the only way she knew how – the same way Orochimaru had trained her. Apparently he was of the school of thought that pain was the best motivator and while Rei didn't enjoy it she quickly saw that it was a _very_ good way of improving quickly if you could take it. Plus the fact that it was a training methodology developed by Orochimaru made Rei all the more eager to tackle the training with enthusiasm.

It was kind of funny that while Anko and the Hokage were watching her for signs of a budding psychopath/traitor she had been developing a bit of a private Orochimaru fetish in part because of their actions. He gave Konoha the finger with both hands which was something that Rei could definitely admire. He also was known and feared in every corner of the Elemental Nations, someone even a Kage would hesitate to take on. Plus in the story he always came across as a complete badass and Rei had always rooted for the bad guys in fiction. It was entirely unhealthy she knew, sort of like idolizing Vader or Palpatine or Sauron. In real life Orochimaru was an amoral psychopath but as an idea he was someone she wanted to emulate. If she could achieve anywhere near his level of power and reputation then she would consider her fundamental goals a success.

"So are you still beating those loser Genin or was it all a fluke?" asked Anko when they reached outside.

Rei tucked her hands in her sleeves and tilted her chin up. "Still beating them of course. Much better than half the time now," she said.

Anko clucked her tongue and shook her head in mock sadness. "If it was that much better than half the time I know you would be bragging about the exact numbers. What did I ever do to get such an untalented student? Sounds like you haven't improved very much at all and it's been _weeks_. Why do I get the feeling that maybe you've just been lazy?"

Even though Rei knew the game Anko was playing she still bristled at that. "That's probably just a draft from the indecent clothes you insist on wearing addling your brain sensei," she replied seriously.

"Meh, so uncute," said Anko, stretching her arms upwards and putting on a show showing off her body in her fishnet bodysuit. Why she bothered doing that with a seven year old Rei would never know, "of course you know you're going to pay for that. We'll do some _special_ training today, how does that sound?" said Anko with a wide grin that promised pain, "unless you don't think you can take it?"

Rei knew Anko blatantly manipulated her pride to push her to go further, hell the woman didn't even bother to be subtle about it. The girl's competitive streak was also something the Special Jounin liked to go after. Rei allowed it to an extent as it did help motivate her and in her mind it was better to go along with the manipulations she could see than buck them entirely.

Inside Rei flinched and was suddenly nervous about Anko's _'__special'_ training but on the outside she kept herself composed. She slid on an arrogant cocky smile she knew people found extremely irritating. "You don't even have to ask sensei. We all know I'll be better than you in a few years anyway," she said. It was total bullshit but by the way Anko snorted derisively she felt she'd scored a point anyway.

"Only in your sad and pathetic dreams kid. Now go grab some logs and set them up in a circle thirty feet across. And doubletime it my time is already way too valuable to be wasting on your scrawny ass."

While Rei wanted to retort and snark back some of her more sensible parts won out and she ran to do as Anko had commanded. There were issues at play no doubt but that didn't change the fact that she looked forward to these training sessions if only for the fact that so far they had proved to be very effective. Around the side of their house in a shed were kept several training aids including the aforementioned logs. With Anko watching on with an impatient tapping of her foot Rei set a half dozen logs in a circle around the serpent woman.

The Special Jounin looked around at her work and Rei knew by now that the fact that she didn't comment on it meant that she approved. "So kid, have you been keeping up your training?" she asked, her tone suddenly more business-like.

"Yes of course. I'm not the type to slack off," she said seriously in a matter of fact tone. Down to business then.

"Good because I'll know if you haven't. I'm not here to babysit you every day so remember most of your progress actually gets done on your own," Anko said echoing a sentiment she often espoused.

Rei nodded having heard the same thing many times before but it didn't hurt having it repeated. Perhaps predictably Anko had only been training her in fitness, weapons and Konoha Standard taijutsu. Still it was thanks to her tutelage she had pushed her game to the next level and was now able to beat full Genin in her clan in taijutsu spars on a regular basis. Even if Rei doubted Sarutobi's little informant would ever teach her more than the basics she couldn't deny that she had still been benefiting a great deal from the arrangement.

"We'll work on the speed of your replacement technique. Did you manage to drop any more of the hand seals since last time?" asked Anko.

"Yup. I'm down to two now," said Rei unable to keep the touch of smugness out of her tone.

"Well hurray for you," said Anko in a dry tone, "what about Henge and Bunshin?"

"Err, not so much progress there. Still stuck at one seal, I haven't been able to figure out how to get the chakra moving in the first place without the last hand seal yet," Rei said this time feeling a bit embarrassed by her lack of progress. It had been about two weeks and she had not been able to break through that barrier. She had even gone and re-read _A Treatise on the Theory of Reducing the Number of Handseals Needed for the Execution of Jutsu_but all in all the scroll had been singularly unhelpful.

"Learning to drop the last seal is the hardest even for an arrogant brat like you," said Anko sounding overwhelmingly unsympathetic. She produced several kunai in between her fingers, "let's see if we can speed things along, yeah? We'll start with something easy. Let's see how fast you can Kawarimi."

Before she even finished speaking Rei was already running through the first hand seal of Kawarimi as she was more than familiar with Anko's teaching habits by this point. Without any kind of warning she launched the kunai at Rei the instant she finished speaking. While the kunai were in flight Rei completed the second seal and felt her chakra attach to the log directly behind the older woman. With one final mental tug Rei felt her body displace with an inaudible 'pop' as the time/space jutsu switched her with her target.

At first having her point of view changed instantly had been disorienting but by now it had become second nature. The smoke had not even cleared when Anko spun and threw another spread of kunai at Rei. The blonde girl knew it was coming and was already speeding though the hand seals of Kawarimi yet again, this time popping up to the left of Anko while the log was impaled by kunai.

"This is a speed exercise so don't even think about dodging!" Anko yelled.

Gradually Anko's throws started to become faster and faster and Rei found herself struggling to stay ahead and complete her Kawarimi before she was tagged. There was a wicked smile and Anko's face that didn't bode well for Rei but for the moment she was managing to keep ahead of the kunai if only by a hair. Whenever the snake woman smiled like that it only meant pain was coming for the girl and she knew it. Rei didn't have time to worry about it though as she had to concentrate everything she had on executing the jutsu faster and faster just to stay ahead of the onslaught.

What felt like both an incredibly long and short time later Anko stopped her assault. Rei was panting heavily with exertion but refused to give in to the urge to bend over and put her hands on her knees. The older woman looked amused by Rei's efforts to stand tall and look nonplussed. The girl for her part was getting a little worried. Anko could have thrown the kunai hard enough to hit her but she hadn't and had instead pushed her to her limits and forced her to go further – almost like a sane non-crazy teacher would. For most people that would be a relief but Rei knew from the experience that if Anko didn't inflict some pain the obvious way it only meant she was going to get a little more creative.

Luckily while Rei didn't enjoy pain she wasn't exactly horribly adverse to it anymore either. It was amazing how many things you could get used to once you accepted them.

"Could have been worse," Anko commented with that worrying smile, "now that you're warmed up we're going to try for a _real_ challenge. I want you to change the color of your outfit and then Kawarimi over to that log," she said motioning at one to her side with her head.

Rei looked at Anko warily but did as she was instructed. Using the Ram seal activated a basic Henge, changing her kimono from lavender to a vibrant red. Seeing that Anko didn't immediately attack her she went through Dog and Snake and switched herself with the log the woman had indicated. Seeing that the technique was completed and no attack was forthcoming Rei warily drew herself up straight.

"So, you got the basic idea?" asked Anko with that same disturbing smile on her face.

Rei was confused for a few seconds before the only obvious conclusion came to mind. "You want to do the same exercise except you want me to use a Henge before I Kawarimi?" asked Rei cautiously hoping she was wrong.

"Yup!" said Anko gleefully, twirling a kunai around one finger "and don't think I'm suddenly going to start throwing slower either brat."

Rei bit her lip. "How is this even training? When in the world am I ever going to have to pull a Henge before a Kawarimi? Are you sure this isn't just you trying to find an outlet for your sadism?" she asked with a reproachful tone as if she were scolding someone younger than her.

Anko's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "Keep running that mouth of yours and your training is going to get even more 'special'. Is that what you want?" asked Anko dangerously.

Rei held her gaze for a few seconds before she broke eye contact first and looked off to the side. "No sensei," she said.

"Good. There are lots of reasons why we're doing this, the only one you need to worry about right now is that people often have a hard time casting jutsu in quick succession. The flow of chakra is too different and getting it to flow quickly one way and then the other can be hard without practice. Now get ready, and I expect you to change your outfit to a different color each time you jump. Don't let me catch you in the same outfit twice."

With that Anko threw a kunai at Rei before the girl was ready. She had barely completed the Henge when the kunai struck her in the shoulder punching through the thick cloth and cutting into the skin below disrupting the technique. Rei hissed in pain both from the strength of the blow and from the new puncture wound on her shoulder. She knew from experience it wasn't very deep or debilitating but it was _painful_. Rei clutched her shoulder and glared balefully at Anko.

"What are you waiting for?" she said already twirling another kunai in her hand with a saucy grin on her face, "hurry up and Kawarimi already."

Unfortunately Anko seemed to be resistant to being set on fire by her glare alone. Putting her hands together she went through the two seals of Kawarimi and switched herself with another log. As soon as she appeared she Henged into a blue outfit and was halfway through the Dog seal when a kunai hit her on her thigh right above her knee. It must have hit a nerve because her whole leg went numb and unresponsive for a few long painful seconds.

"Shit!" she yelled clutching her leg. _Fucking bitch!_ She hissed in her head.

Anko was already flipping another kunai with absentminded carelessness. "No time for that. The longer you take the faster the kunai are going to come Rei-chan," said Anko with a mocking lilt in her voice, "I'd hurry it up if I were you."

Rei grit her teeth, her anger starting to burn and bubble in her chest. She was going to get this right. She wouldn't let this woman get the better of her.

Readying herself Rei ran through the hand seals of Kawarimi and switched. Before her feet even hit the ground she was already halfway through the Henge, this time her outfit done in all black. Ignoring Anko she put everything she had into executing Kawarimi even faster than before, her fingers blurring into the familiar Dog seal. Rei knew she was already going much faster than she had the last jump.

It didn't matter. This time the kunai hit her on the forehead with considerable force, snapping her head back and almost knocking her off her feet. Rei yelped in pain and surprise stumbling back and clutching her head where she had been struck. Already she could feel a thin stream of blood dribbling down her face in between her eyes.

_I was definitely moving faster yet the kunai still hit me at the same time. That means she must have thrown it faster. Getting hit while doing the Dog seal both times… had it been on purpose? _Rei thought, forcing her mind for the moment to become analytical to both figure out what was going on and to try to control the hot emotions that started churning violently inside her. Either there was some aspect of the training she hadn't figured out or Anko was just screwing with her. She couldn't think of any other explanation as to why she'd gotten tagged three times in a row despite her best efforts.

She looked over at Anko. The woman was already twirling another kunai by the ring and looking at Rei with a smug self-satisfied smirk on her face. At seeing Rei's look her smirk widened into what could only be called a sadistic grin.

"Come on Rei-_chan_, I've still got quite a lot of kunai left and quite a bit of frustration to work off. I want to see if I can carve a Konoha leaf right on your forehead," she said, her tone mocking and condescending.

Rei had never completely lost her patience with Anko in the ten months they had been meeting. Come close to it, pretended to, yes, but never had she completely lost control because of her fear. However Anko was being _especially_ cruel and provocative that day and time had deadened the worst of that fear. Rei wasn't about to be Anko's pin cushion. No damn way, no fucking how.

Anko noticed the brat's lip curl in anger – it made her think of an upset puppy – and how her eyes got cold and hard and so very _angry_. Weak unfocused killing intent began to come off her in waves without the would-be baby ninja even realizing it. Her light purple eyes darkened to dark violet gems, a quirk Anko had noticed was a tell for when the girl became truly angry.

"Haven't got all day _sweetie_," said Anko in a faux saccharine tone, lifting her kunai in a threatening fashion, "hurry up and take your spanking."

Rei poured all that churning emotion into concentrating on her goal and suddenly the world seemed to come into a crystal-clear kind of focus. With her darkened eyes never leaving Anko's face the young girl brought her hands together for another Kawarimi.

As soon as she landed her hands were up changing her outfit to brown. Even as she was finishing the transformation she was already moving, sliding to the side with a smooth movement and beginning the first hand seal for Kawarimi. The kunai Anko had thrown sailed past to her left even faster than the one before. The serpent teacher threw another kunai at her but Rei was already in the middle of the second hand seal of Kawarimi. Rei switched and the kunai embedded itself in the log she had replaced herself with.

"When did I say you could dodge?" said Anko somehow managing to sound both pissed and amused, "this is supposed to be a speed exercise remember!"

Rei didn't reply instead sending her instructor a scathing look that let her know just what she thought of _that_ comment. Things degenerated from there. Anko began to throw kunai faster and at a higher volume while Rei struggled to dodge and complete the two jutsu. The blonde realized that if she timed it just right she could use the thick sleeves of her robe to tangle and stop kunai mid-flight while her hands were together forming hand seals. Rei entered 'the zone' where no thoughts or worries existed, instead it was just her pushing her body and skills to the limit in the most efficient way she could manage while the rest of the world fell away. Focusing her anger into action Rei was moving smoother and faster than she would normally be able to achieve.

Still it was not enough. Gradually the speed and accuracy of the incoming kunai increased making it progressively more and more difficult for Rei to continue to dodge and weave and deflect while casting the two jutsu. First she got tagged over her liver and the next rotation a kunai glanced off her shoulder. While she was still dodging most of the barrage she started to get tagged almost every jump. It hurt like hell and the pain was starting to threaten her concentration and drain her stamina.

_I'm not going to lose here_.

Rei knew she was beginning to tire and she knew Anko wasn't about to let up. She had to do something to prove she was the winner in this, but what? Using a sliver of her attention Rei turned to her chakra network. She could feel how the chakra flowed for each jutsu, shunting along different channels and reaching and _twisting_ in certain ways that would eventually produce the effect she wanted. Did they really have to happen one and then the other though? Could she cut out that step?

Another kunai hit her forehead above her eyebrow deflecting off to the side. Very quickly Rei could feel a dribble of blood trickling into her eye. For some reason getting hit anywhere close to her face like that really pissed her off.

_I'm not going to lose. I refuse. I have to go faster, faster, __**faster**__! _

Rei began deliberately pushing her chakra in different directions on the next jump. Skipping the hand seal for Henge she went straight to the first one for Kawarimi and _forced_ her chakra to move in two different directions at once. The Dog seal easily moved the chakra inside her into the familiar pattern of Kawarimi but her chakra only sluggishly and very stubbornly began to move along the pathway to Henge, the hand seal not inherently compatible with the flow she was attempting. A kunai hit her foot and another her leg but she ignored the pain as she brute forced her chakra to move in what felt like strange and unnatural ways.

_Come on! _

She tried to activate both jutsu at once with the second seal. Kawarimi triggered and she switched with the log she was aiming for but a glance downwards told her the Henge had failed. Even though it was a failure though Rei was convinced she had been close. She had felt it. It was just _right there_. She could do it.

"You didn't Henge that time! I think someone needs a little punishment for so blatantly going against the instructions of her beautiful and patient sensei," Rei heard the crazy sadist say in a sing-song voice.

The blonde said nothing instead dodging one kunai and throwing herself behind one of the downed logs they had been using for practice. She was small enough that she was able to hide her whole body behind it. It was a decent makeshift cover from Anko but Rei didn't think it would buy her more than a few seconds.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! I hate pussies, come out and take your punishment!"

Rei just needed a few seconds to concentrate and she was sure she could do this. Laying on her back Rei brought her hands together and once again began moving her chakra in two differing ways at the same time. If it had not been for Rei closely observing and sinking into her chakra every night there was no way she would have the awareness or sensitivity to even begin attempting this… but as it was she intimately _knew_ what her chakra was supposed to do to activate those techniques.

_Come on, come on._

One flow happened smoothly while the other was stubborn and difficult. Rei directed most of her attention to the slow stream which would produce the Henge while trusting the hand seals to take care of the Kawarimi. She let instinct take over as to when to move to the second hand seal. _White kimono, Kawarimi, same time. Tie the triggers simultaneously in your mind. Push them both at the same time._

Her danger sense spiked and Rei opened her eyes only to see a barrage of kunai raining down on her from above. Flat on her back the only way she would escape in time was if she executed the technique. With an unnatural shove that felt like trying to walk in two different directions at once she made both streams of chakra trigger simultaneously. The feel of being transported via Kawarimi was subtly different this time, like she was being cocooned in chakra while she did so. A split second later when she reappeared Rei was panting from exertion. Almost fearfully she looked down but whatever fears she had were for naught. White kimono. A victorious smile curled on her lips. She'd done it. She'd executed both techniques at once.

Rei was so excited it took her a moment to realize she was no longer being pelted with kunai. Anko was looking at her with a serious evaluating expression. All signs of the sadist and goofball were gone for the moment. She tilted her head to the side a little and it reminded Rei of a dog trying to work through a problem.

"Think you can do that again kid?" she asked.

"Of course," said Rei automatically, her voice a little indignant at the suggestion it might have merely been a _fluke_. Even though she was bleeding from small wounds all over and was nearing exhaustion Rei drew herself up tall and folded her arms in her sleeves. "Like I've already said it will only be a few years until I surpass you. Doing this much is simple for someone like me," she said, putting all the infuriating arrogance she could into her face and voice. It helped that her arrogant nature was not all that much of an act.

Anko snorted at that. "You can talk shit when you've actually gone and done something impressive. Now switch with the log next to you and let me see what you did."

Being unwilling to fail and embarrass herself Rei took her time and recreated what she had done previously. Ironically it seemed harder to do now that she wasn't in fear of getting pin-cushioned but after a few moments of wrestling with her chakra she got it to behave and trigger like she wanted. The blonde disappeared and reappeared in a puff of smoke, this time looking immaculate in a girly and formal pink-and-white kimono with a parasol.

Anko looked a little surprised before she quickly covered it up. "Well. That's not something just anyone can pull off. I guess you're not _completely _untalented," she said in a dismissive tone.

That was as close to a compliment as she was likely to get from Anko. Despite the pain and blood she could feel underneath the Henge Rei grinned, happy and victorious. This was her win.

_I didn't even know it was possible to pull off two jutsu at once. I wonder how I can make this work for me?_

"Now let's see if you can do the same thing with Bunshin instead," said Anko drawing another kunai with a look of slightly-unhinged glee on her face.

_Oh shi-_

000

Sometime later a completely spent Rei was sitting on her porch panting hard while Anko used the Mystic Palm technique on her to close up all the small punctures and lacerations from their training. The technique did nothing for her torn up clothes and the blood on her however. It was all Rei could do to sit up and not collapse on the porch – an effort that much to her annoyance Anko seemed to find endlessly amusing.

"You're such a proud brat. You know that just makes it easy to pick on you don't you?" commented Anko as she finished up her superficial healing.

"I'm fine the way I am," Rei said, moving her arms experimentally and trying not to wince at the soreness she found.

"I won't think any less of you if you want to lay down. I know I rode you hard today, probably more than you can handle," said Anko in a needling tone.

Rei shot her a flat unimpressed look that for some reason seemed to amuse the Special Jounin even more.

"See? Now you'd probably get yourself killed before you laid down on this comfortable wooden porch. Proud brats like you are so easy to manipulate Rei-chan," she said plopping herself down next to Rei.

"I think you're overstating things," said Rei with a slight frown, folding her legs to get more comfortable.

"Sure tell yourself that if you want. However we need to discuss what happened in training today."

"Oh?"

"It was well done kid. That kind of thing, pulling two jutsu at once, even basic ones? That's a Jounin level skill. Granted it's often not _that_ useful and it gets exponentially harder to do with higher level skills but still. Not bad for a seven year old chibi full of herself," said Anko.

Rei looked at her sensei warily. That was entirely _too nice_ of Anko. "Thanks," she said after a pause.

Anko produced a canteen and a flask from somewhere, opening the canteen and holding it out to her. Rei eyed the offered item suspiciously. Anko rolled her eyes, "If I wanted to kill you I'd just shove a kunai in your eye. Don't spit on my good mood and generosity now it's not like I ever try to hurt you… much."

_That's not what I'm worried about_ Rei thought warily. Who knew what was in that canteen? Maybe just water. Or maybe it also had the ninja equivalent of veritaserum if there was such a thing. Gingerly she took the canteen while looking at Anko for anything suspicious but she failed to find anything. Even though she was thirsty as heck Rei tossed the canteen back and only pretended to drink.

Paranoid? Well, yes. But she really didn't want to find out what would happen if what was in her head came to light. She could deal with a little bit of thirst.

Anko opened her flask and by the way she drank it Rei was sure it held something quite a bit stronger than water. Did Anko have a drinking problem? Hard to tell. While carrying a flask of booze around was odd it wasn't the oddest thing about her instructor by any stretch of the imagination.

"All bullshit and sniping aside," began Anko suddenly, "while I've seen people much more naturally talented than you at taijutsu your progress in ninjutsu has been surprising. Doing a sealess Henge and Bunshin after three weeks of training? It's almost unheard of. It usually takes at least four times as long," she said, pausing to take a deep pull from her flask.

Rei for her part was getting uncomfortable. While she liked compliments as much as the next girl – more so probably – what Anko was doing was downright gushy by her standards. Whenever something deviated from the norm it was always prudent to be wary.

The blonde went over what the Special Jounin had said. "I didn't do sealess Henge or Bunshin, what I did was do them in conjunction with Kawarimi," she said. It was true, she had somehow managed to force simultaneous casting though it would take some work for it to become second nature. She could definitely see some useful utility out of the skill though nothing exactly game changing.

Anko gave her a look that said she was a particularly dim student. "I think you missed the part where you did those two jutsu without using their corresponding seals. I'm pretty sure you could do them sealess now that you have the idea."

"If you say so," said Rei, not entirely convinced.

Anko didn't seem to like that. "Stand up and do a sealess Henge," she ordered.

Groaning perhaps a little more than was necessary Rei forced her aching body to its feet. It took about ten minutes and a lot of frowning and snide remarks from Anko before she managed to do a sealess Henge – sort of. She meant to change the color of her clothes and she did change them about ninety percent. An imperfect Henge but a Henge non the less. Getting the chakra flowing in the first place was still difficult and controlling it without a hand seal was challenging even for something as basic as Henge.

"Hmm well I suppose that will do for now," commented Anko while she held her chin looking thoughtful. "I think you're one of those people who performs best under pressure. Pretty sure if I'd been chucking kunai at you you would have done that much better and faster."

"Please don't," said Rei trying not to sound like she was whining. With a heavy plop she let herself collapse onto the floor. She was so very _very_ tempted to drink from that canteen.

"It's a good thing. Some ninja only really do their best work while in combat. Much better than the alternative, the guys who are great in training but somehow always manage to _underperform_ in the field. Now _those_ guys are… _disappointing_," she said with a suggestive grin and wag of her eyebrows.

Seriously, she was seven. Why did Anko keep doing that? The blonde just looked at her instructor impassively.

"Anyway," said Anko, looking away and taking another deep pull from her flask, "you're talented kid. You've got an aptitude for ninjutsu."

"Thanks," muttered Rei while pretending to drink.

"You could go very far," Anko said.

"I guess."

"Ever think about what you'll do once you actually get some skill to back up all that bragging you like to do?"

_Here we go_ thought Rei. Sometimes Anko could be incredibly subtle trying to get her to reveal something that might be incriminating. Fairly often Rei wasn't even sure if she was being prodded for information or not. Other times… not so much on the subtlety department. Apparently this was going to be one of those times.

"I guess I haven't really thought about it," replied Rei with a shrug.

"Oh come on," said Anko turning to face her fully with a playful look on her face, "you can't tell me you haven't thought about it _at all_. Every kid dreams about becoming a big bad ninja after all."

"Of course I've thought about it _some_," replied Rei, "I guess I'm mostly just focused on doing things one day at a time you know? Get as strong as I can, make Jounin. Then I'll have to worry about inheriting the clan I suppose."

"Funny," said Anko, "you don't strike me as the kind of person who would have such low ambitions. Or the kind who was eager to dive into clan politics. I was expecting you to tell me you wanted to be like one of the Sannin."

_Careful._ "Sure I guess. I mean what little girl doesn't dream about being like Tsunade-sama right?" she said, looking out into the darkening twilight and not meeting Anko's gaze. She knew it was a sign of insincerity but she didn't know just how good she was at lying with her eyes, especially when she was so exhausted.

"Tsunade-sama is a medic. I thought you said you didn't want to be a medic?" Anko prodded further.

"Well then maybe I'll idolize the Nidaime Hokage. Does it really matter?" she said, rolling her eyes and sounding every bit the kid annoyed at an adult's incessant questions.

"I guess not," said Anko with a chuckle. Thankfully she let the subject drop.

They were quiet for a few moments as they watched the sun setting over the wall. Sometimes Anko stayed behind for a bit after their training. Practically Rei knew it was to give her an excuse to subtly interrogate her but part of her wondered if Anko didn't genuinely enjoy the company at least a little bit. From what Rei had gathered Anko was poorly thought of and generally not trusted among the ninja population given her past. However much the woman annoyed her and drove her crazy Rei didn't… dislike her per se. Not really. Maybe the other woman picked up on that.

Or maybe it was all in her head and those thoughts were nothing but wishful thinking. It was sad but in other circumstances it would have been nice to have befriended Anko. As it was any kind of genuine relationship was impossible.

After a few minutes Anko broke the silence, a teasing note in her voice. "So is it true you're going to be sparring with Neji Hyuuga the day after tomorrow?"

Rei's head whipped around to face her, surprise clearly written across her face. "How did you know about that?" she asked with trepidation. Just how close tabs were the Hokage's people keeping on her?

Anko chuckled at her reaction. "For people who make a career out of keeping secrets ninja are horrible gossips when it comes to things that aren't actually classified. The once-in-a-generation Hyuuga genius and the arrogant bratty heiress of the Yamanaka clan becoming training partners? You can bet that quickly made it through the grapevine."

"Really?" asked Rei, unable to keep the incredulity from her voice.

The older woman nodded. "Sad isn't it? People love gossiping about the younger generation especially those who are seen as up-and-comers… though why they would include you in that group is beyond me," said Anko, grinning at a Rei who snorted in response, "seriously thought it gets pretty wild. There's even a betting pool as to which of you is going to win your first spar."

This time Rei gaped at her teacher. "You're kidding right? You're totally pulling my leg."

Anko shook her head and her grin threatening to split her face. "Not kidding at all. Older ninja all have bad habits and gambling over even stupid shit seems to be a common one. Hell I already got in on that action," Anko said with a wink.

Rei licked her lips. She knew she was going to regret asking this. "Who did you bet on?" she asked with trepidation.

"The Hyuuga of course."

Rei threw the woman's canteen at her head which Anko caught without even looking. The older woman out right laughed at the girl's angry and betrayed face.

"You know he's going to kick your ass don't you?" Anko taunted.

"I can beat him," Rei said fiercely.

Anko rolled her eyes dismissively. "Right. I'll believe it when I see it."

"I'm your student. Shouldn't you take some pride in that?" Rei demanded, red from anger and mortification.

"If you succeed because of me I'll take a _little_ pride in that I suppose but I'm also not an idiot. I don't play the long odds," she said, enjoying the distress she was causing her student.

"_Long odds?_" Rei half shouted at her teacher.

Anko nodded gleefully. "Yup the odds of you winning at the betting pool are really abysmal. No one who knows anything about anything actually thinks you can win."

Anko's declaration caused Rei to jump to her feet. "And why is that?" she asked accusingly, anger pouring off her in waves.

Anko shrugged. "Figure it out yourself. I'm not going to hurt my odds of winning by giving you any hints," she said.

Seeing that her student looked like she was about to explode Anko had a rare moment of empathy. "Look kid don't get me wrong, you're good but there's no way you're going to beat him. Don't take it as an insult. They'll be plenty of people in your life you won't be able to beat."

"Well we'll just have to see about that, now won't we? You can see yourself out," Rei hissed caustically. With as much dignity as she could muster Rei stood tall and marched back into the house.

Anko shook her head, eyeing the full canteen of lightly drugged water that was in her hands. "Kids," she muttered, taking another long pull of alcohol from her flask.

000

**_Jutsu profile: Replacement Technique (Kawarimi) – E-Rank _**

**_One of the so-called "basic 3" it is the one jutsu taught in academies that is widely believed to be useful in combat throughout the careers of most ninja. The jutsu switches the body of the user with an object of similar mass within a certain range. This jutsu becomes more difficult and chakra intensive the larger the difference between the mass of the user and the object in question becomes. If the difference is too great the jutsu may fail altogether. _**

**_Even for advanced users Kawarimi has a small wind up time and this makes it unsuitable for dodging surprise attacks. Rather it is best used to dodge an attack the user can predict is coming, ideally creating a small window to counterattack while the opponent is paying attention to the replaced object. Various minor genjutsu and even the Transformation Technique (Henge) can be modified to make the replaced object appear as the user for a few seconds making the deception even more effective. _**

**_Unfortunately Kawarimi loses much of its effectiveness against sensors and high level ninja. These ninja can often sense where the user will reappear while the jutsu is being performed creating an opening for a dangerous counterattack. It is also more difficult to take advantage of the small windows of opportunity Kawarimi provides against such opponents. Nevertheless skillful use of Kawarimi can be an invaluable tool in low-to-mid level ninja combat._**


End file.
